'Jeffrey Zucker' (born
April 9,
1965) is an
American television executive, and President &
CEO of
NBC Universal. He is a 5-time
Emmy Award winner known for his aggressive promotion of his network's programs. In
1996, he married Caryn Stephanie Nathanson Zucker, then a supervisor for ''
Saturday Night Live'',
[1] with whom he has four children.
Early life
Zucker, who is
Jewish, was born in
Homestead, Florida,
[2] and moved to
Miami, Florida, when he was a child. His father was a cardiologist, and his mother, Arlene, was a school teacher. He has a younger sister, Pam. Zucker did not speak until he was 3, but spent countless hours putting together 500-piece puzzles. By age 5, he discovered tennis, and he later became a top-ranked player in Florida.
He was captain of the
North Miami Senior High School tennis team, editor of the school paper, and a teenage freelance reporter ("
stringer") for ''
The Miami Herald''. The 5-foot, 6-inch Zucker also served as president of his sophomore, junior, and senior classes, running on the slogan: "The little man with the big ideas." Before college, he took part in
Northwestern University's National High School Institute Program for
journalism.
He went on to
Harvard, serving as President of the school newspaper, ''
The Harvard Crimson'', during his senior year, surprising many who thought the post would go to
Michael Hirschorn. As President of the ''Crimson'', Zucker encouraged the decades-old rivalry with the ''
Harvard Lampoon'', headed by future NBC colleague
Conan O'Brien. (The Crimson's editors now joke that since Zucker is O'Brien's boss, those who want to get ahead in life should choose to join the ''Crimson'' over the ''Lampoon''). He graduated in 1986 with a
B.A. in
American History.
NBC career
Researcher
When he was not admitted to
Harvard Law School, he was hired by
NBC to research material for its coverage of the
1988 Olympics in
Seoul, South Korea, where he worked for host
Bob Costas.
Field producer & executive producer of ''The Today Show''
In
1989, he was a field
producer for ''
The Today Show,'' and at 26 he became its
executive producer in
1992.
[3] He introduced outdoor
rock concerts on the show, and incorporated a mass live audience, most prominently through a window on the city. Under his leadership, ''Today'' was the nation’s most-watched morning news program, with viewership during the
2000-
01 season reaching the highest point in the show’s history.
President of NBC Entertainment
In
2000, he was named NBC Entertainment's president.
[4] During that time he oversaw NBC's entire entertainment schedule. He kept the network ahead of the pack by airing the
gross out show ''
Fear Factor'', squeezing extra years out of the ''
Friends'' crew, and signing
Donald Trump for the
reality show ''
The Apprentice''. The Zucker era produced a spike in operating earnings for NBC, from $532 million the year he took over to $870 million in
2003.
Under Zucker's leadership, NBC was the top-rated network among the key adults 18-49 demographic for 4 consecutive seasons, during three of which NBC led key demographics in every major daypart, a feat no other network has ever achieved. Zucker also put his mark on the network with ''
Las Vegas'', '', and ''
Scrubs''. He originated the idea of airing "Supersized" (longer than the standard 30 minute slot) episodes of NBC's comedies and revitalized the network's summer programming with original fare that paved the way to year-round programming. Also on Zucker's watch,
Bravo generated ratings gains and
Telemundo revitalized its
prime time lineup and began to show significant growth.
President of NBC Entertainment's News & Cable Group
In
December 2003, he was promoted to president of NBC's Entertainment, News & Cable Group as well.
President of NBC Television Group
Following the merger with French media empire
Vivendi Universal, he was promoted to president of its Television Group in
May 2004. Zucker's responsibilities, which already included NBC's cable channels, were expanded to include TV production as well as the USA, Sci-Fi, and Trio
cable channels.
Chief Executive Officer of NBC
On
December 15,
2005, Zucker was again promoted by NBC, to Chief Executive Officer of NBC Universal Television Group behind
Robert Charles Wright, vice chairman of
General Electric and chairman & CEO of NBC Universal.
[5]. Zucker was responsible for all programming across the company’s television properties, including network, news, cable, and Sports and Olympics. His responsibilities also include the company’s studio operations and global distribution efforts. Zucker reports to Bob Wright.
President & CEO of NBC Universal
Zucker was promoted on February 6, 2007, to the position of president & CEO of NBC Universal, replacing Bob Wright, who held the position at NBC Universal, and before that, at NBC, for 21 years.
[6]
Criticism
Some feel that NBC has mostly struggled under Zucker's watch. Because he has enjoyed a series of promotions despite the declining rankings of his network, Zucker is considered by some to have "failed upward."
[7], and a detractor created a site calling for his dismissal (See
Fire Jeff Zucker)
Health
Zucker was diagnosed at age 31 with
colon cancer, worked through two bouts of it, and had a large part of his
colon removed, then endured more than a year of
chemotherapy. He scheduled his chemo treatments for Friday afternoons, so he could be back at the office on Mondays.
[8] Zucker's cancer is in
remission, but he still thinks about its impact. "It put my life into perspective," he says. "I want to win and win honorably. But heck, it's only television."
External links
★
Bio and photo of Jeff Zucker — Crain's New York Business 40 under 40 — 1992
★
NBC Universal Bio of Jeff Zucker
★
GE Bio of Jeff Zucker
★
"Jeff Zucker — NBC's Superstar Entertainment Chief," by Kaya Morgan, 2003
★
"Jeff Zucker appointed chief of NBC Universal," 2/6/07
★
"Dialogue: Zucker on Silverman, Murdoch, movies," 7/31/07
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