Jeff Zucker "wears very well?"

Bill Carter NYT:  Mr. Zucker’s future role with the newly formed entity, with Comcast controlling 51 percent and G.E. 49 percent, will be cemented, an executive involved in the talks said, when it is officially announced, which is expected to be on Thursday. Mr. Zucker will be getting a new long-term contract that will extend his leadership of NBC Universal through the regulatory approval period (expected to take at least a year) and will include language promising that his role as chief executive will continue in the new joint venture. The reporting structure will change to Comcast from G.E., and he will report to Comcast’s chief executive, Steve Burke.

That vote of confidence in Mr. Zucker will surely baffle those in the industry who have been constant critics of his performance.

“It’s almost unfathomable that the day after the approval Comcast won’t make a change and Jeff will be out,” said one longtime senior Hollywood executive with program production and talent-management experience who, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity because Mr. Zucker remains in a position to make decisions that affect the executive’s business.

Some criticism comes from within NBC. “Some people have begun to ask what he has really done for the company,” said one executive, who asked not to be identified because internal critics could be risking their jobs.

But David Zaslav, the president of Discovery Communications and former corporate colleague of Mr. Zucker’s at NBC, says he believes that Mr. Zucker will survive longer than his critics think. “I think Jeff wears very well. He has a lot of charisma and a ton of energy. This thing could take a year before it settles. I think he wins them over. Don’t underestimate that guy.”

“I feel they should take the American flag down in front of the building and just put up a white one because they’ve clearly given up,” said Peter Tolan, the producer of “Rescue Me,” just before the start of the Leno show this summer.

“When you talk content, you are basically talking talent,” said Jimmy Lee, vice chairman of JPMorgan Chase, who was involved on the banking side of the Comcast deal. “You’ve got big-time executives who have really deep, extremely valuable skills. They can move from company to company. The Comcast crew realized early on that Jeff is really the glue that keeps them all together.”

Several executives inside and outside the company said Mr. Zucker has had to deal with restrictions — mainly on the financial side — from his G.E. bosses that have never been public, and that many of the slams he has suffered are simply unjustified.

While NBC executives maintain Mr. Zucker’s decision to give “The Tonight Show” to Conan O’Brien and relocate Mr. Leno must be evaluated over a long term, the analysis may get harsher in the short term. Many of NBC’s affiliated stations are taking a ratings beating at 11 p.m. and blame low viewership of the Leno show, which leads into those newscasts.
“The next NBC affiliate meeting is going to look like a North Korean battleground,” the senior Hollywood executive said.

Now, with the ownership issue unsettled until the deal passes regulatory muster, Mr. Zucker would presumably have to manage quarter to quarter — or maybe minute by minute — and prove again to his new potential bosses how steady his hand is on the company’s wheel.

Cue Rod Stewart's "You Wear It Well"....