US TV
NBC is axing 700 jobs and drastically cutting spending on news and expensive scripted shows as part of a massive restructuring plan.
The "strategic initiative" announced today, which goes by the name "NBCU 2.0", will aim to save the company $750m by the end of 2008 by redirecting "traditional analogue resources toward high-growth digital areas and international expansion."
Some of the announced job cuts, which amount to around 5% of NBC Universal's total workforce, will happen in the near future, with the majority scheduled for 2007.
"NBC Universal 2.0 will prepare us for future growth from a position of strength," said NBC Universal TV Group CEO Jeff Zucker. "With new momentum in prime time at NBC, continued leadership from NBC News, real growth at Telemundo, and solid performances in virtually every other division of our Television Group, there is no better time to re-engineer the company for the revolutionary changes to come. We have to recognise that the changes of the next five years will dwarf the changes of the last fifty."
As part of the change in strategy, NBC's broadcast network is expected to move away from commissioning relatively expensive scripted programmes for the 8pm hour, concentrating such spending for shows in the 9 and 10pm slots.
The network's news operation is also being restructured, with newsgathering being centralised at NBC headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Centre in lower Manhattan. The company's 24 hour news channel MSNBC will abandon its Secaucus, New Jersey headquarters and join its corporate sibling CNBC at nearby Englewood Cliffs. Some of the job cuts announced today are expected to include NBC News on-air presenters.
"Success in this business means quickly adjusting to and anticipating change," said Bob Wright, NBC Universal chairman and CEO. "This initiative is designed to help us exploit technology and focus our resources, as we continue our transformation into a digital media company for the 21st century."
The "strategic initiative" announced today, which goes by the name "NBCU 2.0", will aim to save the company $750m by the end of 2008 by redirecting "traditional analogue resources toward high-growth digital areas and international expansion."
Some of the announced job cuts, which amount to around 5% of NBC Universal's total workforce, will happen in the near future, with the majority scheduled for 2007.
"NBC Universal 2.0 will prepare us for future growth from a position of strength," said NBC Universal TV Group CEO Jeff Zucker. "With new momentum in prime time at NBC, continued leadership from NBC News, real growth at Telemundo, and solid performances in virtually every other division of our Television Group, there is no better time to re-engineer the company for the revolutionary changes to come. We have to recognise that the changes of the next five years will dwarf the changes of the last fifty."
As part of the change in strategy, NBC's broadcast network is expected to move away from commissioning relatively expensive scripted programmes for the 8pm hour, concentrating such spending for shows in the 9 and 10pm slots.
The network's news operation is also being restructured, with newsgathering being centralised at NBC headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Centre in lower Manhattan. The company's 24 hour news channel MSNBC will abandon its Secaucus, New Jersey headquarters and join its corporate sibling CNBC at nearby Englewood Cliffs. Some of the job cuts announced today are expected to include NBC News on-air presenters.
"Success in this business means quickly adjusting to and anticipating change," said Bob Wright, NBC Universal chairman and CEO. "This initiative is designed to help us exploit technology and focus our resources, as we continue our transformation into a digital media company for the 21st century."
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