An anonymous e-mail tips off  the shake-up at NBC.

Life is not a box of chocolates: Something about NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker makes one think of Forrest Gump. "I am not a smart man," Gump says repeatedly while shooting the rapids of life. Zucker, of course, is a smart man, though it hasn't been apparent in his management of NBC. "I am not a popular man," Zucker might say—and the goings-on at network over the weekend are unlikely to change that.

Late last week, someone sent out an anonymous e-mail revealing that Zucker was laying plans for a shake-up that would strip NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly of much of his authority. Zucker had just renewed Reilly's contract for three years in March. But it appears that in laying its snares, NBC Universal put itself in breach of Reilly's contract, enabling him to spend the next three years bodysurfing with ousted Viacom chief Tom Freston, if he chooses.

By Monday night, NBC Universal still had not addressed the situation at the network. What seemed clear was that Zucker—caught off-guard by the leak of his nascent plans—had to do some furious politicking over the long weekend. He had to sew up what is undoubtedly a very expensive deal to get young producer Ben Silverman (The Office, Ugly Betty) to take a major role at the network and television studio. (It's an interesting choice, since no one has ever accused Silverman of having management skills; more chapters on that, no doubt, to come.) Zucker apparently also had to scramble to sort out who will replace Reilly and what would become of a number of other NBC executives. It wasn't hard to imagine that whoever leaked NBC's plans to the media fully intended to make Zucker look like he's flailing.

It is very unusual to dump the head of a network just after the upfront presentations, where the networks unveil their fall lineups. Now NBC sales executives must convince advertisers to pay millions for commercial time in a schedule that just got a no-confidence vote from the network's über-boss. It's possible that those advertisers were so negative about the NBC presentation that Zucker felt compelled to act. Still, the timing couldn't have been worse.

Apparently, Reilly wasn't thrilled with the pilots that emerged from the network's development this time around. (In truth, none of the big networks had a show that grabbed everyone by the lapels.) That may help explain why NBC renewed a number of shows with poor ratings, such as Friday Night Lights. In the industry, many see Reilly as a guy who's been trying to dig NBC out of a deep hole that Zucker had a lot to do with digging. ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson said it on the record, telling Variety, "I don't think Kevin ever got the respect, the recognition or the support he deserved and needed to do that job."

McPherson also had the grace to say he was jealous of Reilly's record. Reilly brought forth Heroes last year—which is one more major new hit than any of the three networks produced. Conventional wisdom holds that a network can expect only one hit per season. Reilly also gets credit for The Office and My Name Is Earl.

So, Reilly emerges as the sympathetic victim, while Zucker appears to have defied gravity. Even as Bob Wright, chairman of the NBC Universal board, was said to have lost some faith in Zucker, Wright was moved aside, and Zucker's ascent continued without a wobble. "He was born without the gene for self-doubt," mused one industry journalist. "That's a very powerful thing in corporate America. At a place like GE, that plays well."

It underscores a question that seems, increasingly, to interest Wall Street: What is a company like GE doing in the entertainment business in the first place? (link)

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Action Jackson: On the last Monday in April, Sony Pictures held its premiere for Spider-Man 3 in New York. Top executives at various other studios were headed to Jack Valenti's funeral. And Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson put his latest project up for auction. It was the studios' job to produce tempting offers. The first bid arrived within three hours.