NBC Universal

Pat Fili-Krushel is leaving NBC Universal, six months after being replaced as the head of NBC News by Andy Lack, an individual with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap Wednesday. Lack, who was NBC News president from 1993 to 2001, began in April, while Fili-Krushel returned to the role of chairman.

A variety-talk show with American Idol judge Harry Connick Jr. from NBCUniversal tops the shows being developed for first-run syndication for fall 2016, according to sources. Warner Bros. is prepping the return of Love Connection and a talk show with personal finance wiz Suze Orman. Fox will be testing two or three show this summer, while Debmar-Mercury and partner Gannett work on an interactive show.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court won’t hear an appeal from some television networks being sued by a paranormal investigator who claims his idea was stolen and turned into the […]

Comcast veteran Dave Cassaro, who assumed responsibility for all of NBC Universal’s cable ad sales when the cable giant took majority control of NBCU from GE early this year, is leaving the company, according to people familiar with the situation. His departure comes as NBCU is poised to add a well-known executive, these people said: Linda Yaccarino, who has led the charge to sell advertising on Time Warner’s Turner cable division for years.

SMG will continue to support Comcast Cable and add the NBCUniversal theme parks to its portfolio. Maxus will support NBCUniversal’s domestic properties, while GroupM’s MediaCom will continue to represent the company’s media interests outside the U.S.

The deal will help the broadcaster build up its sports properties under Comcast.

Bob Okun, who’s headed NBC Universal’s government relations team for the past 16 years, is leaving his job. He won’t be leaving town, though: Like many others who’ve haunted the halls of Congress, he’s forming his own lobby firm, which he’s dubbed The “O” Team. It will open its doors July 1, with Comcast and NBCU as its first clients.

Jeff Wachtel, the longtime president of original programming, and Chris McCumber, the head of marketing and digital strategy, have been promoted to co-presidents of the USA Network, the most profitable network in the NBCU constellation.

Dick Ebersol may be hamstrung in his latest bid to land the media rights to the 2014 and 2016 Olympics, as his new boss at NBC Universal suggested he’s ready to put an end to the Peacock’s free-spending ways.

NBC Universal’s new chief executive, Steve Burke, has resigned as Comcast Corp.’s chief operating officer but will remain an executive vice president of the cable company, according to a regulatory filing today. Burke became NBCU CEO after Comcast’s takeover of the company closed on Friday.

The Jerry Springer-hosted relationship show, in its second season on cable’s GSN, is getting a 10-week syndication tryout by NBCU on 10 stations, including nine belonging to Sinclair and Weigel’s WCIU Chicago.

Is NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker agreeing to deals that line the pockets of his closest allies before the Comcast takeover? That’s what some folks inside 30 Rock are saying in light of NBC Universal’s pact to sell video-streaming service Netflix fresh episodes of SNL a day after they air on TV. The move would appear to undermine Hulu in its quest to be the only place for in-season broadcast network fare. It’s all the more strange when one considers who created Hulu: NBCU.

Talks have intensified in recent days between U.S. regulators and representatives of cable giant Comcast Corp. over its bid to take control of NBC Universal, according to people familiar with the talks. Comcast is pushing to close the deal by year-end, the sources said.

As previously reported, the peacock in chief will be Steve Burke, the Comcast COO who will become the chief executive at NBC Universal. The new structure envisions a multipronged hierarchy, with a half-dozen division heads reporting directly to Burke. The current layer of executive leadership in Jeff Zucker is essentially removed.

Comcast is relying on the ranks of NBC Universal’s management to fill top jobs as it prepares to take the wraps off a new post-merger pecking order. Comcast’s point man on the integration, COO Steve Burke, has started signing contracts and is expected to unveil a final management structure around Thanksgiving.

In a move that would serve to kneecap the ambitions of Comcast-NBC Universal, ESPN is poised to take a run at the rights for the National Hockey League. And the battle for the NHL could function as a dry run for ESPN’s pursuit of a far bigger prize: the Olympics. That said, Bristol does not have an open field spread out before it; as the incumbent cable rights holder, Comcast’s Versus has first dibs.

Alyssa Corcoran has been promoted to SVP, communications, TV networks and digital distribution, NBC Universal. Corcoran will continue to serve as the primary public relations lead for the company’s distribution […]