WSJ:NBC Universal CEO Suggests More To Leno's Move Than Finances

NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker expressed "regret" about the perception that NBC is airing five nights a week of Jay Leno's show as a financial decision over a creative one.

"I don't think I made that argument per se," Zucker said Thursday in an interview during a New York media conference.

The "idea that it's all about cutting costs ... that hasn't been the case at any of our other assets, so why would it be the case at NBC?" he said.

NBC decided this fall to stop airing fictional TV series at 10 p.m. and instead air a talk show hosted by Leno.

Ratings have been low, and sinking, but NBC had said initially that the Leno show, which is far cheaper than a traditional TV series, would be a financial success, even if the viewership was low by the standards of broadcast TV.

Zucker also was asked about Comcast Corp.'s (CMCSA) negotiations to buy a controlling interest in NBC Universal, owned by General Electric Co. (GE) and Vivendi S.A. (VIV.FR), but he said the in-flux situation "leaves me with very little to say" on the subject.

"I'm incredibly interested in what's going to happen," Zucker joked.

Comcast and GE are said to be close to a deal that would combine their media content assets into a joint venture 51%-owned by Comcast. Vivendi, meanwhile, is trying to exit its minority stake in NBC Universal. The Vivendi-GE talks are seen as the last major hurdle to a Comcast-GE deal.

-By Shira Ovide, Wall Street Journal; shira.ovide@wsj.com