Zucker May Get Paid $30m to Leave NBC a Mess

So it looks like Jeff Zucker should have been polishing his résumé after all. What Ben Silverman, the Jay Leno–Conan battle, and the total disintegration of NBC’s prime-time lineup couldn’t do, it looks like a giant corporation interested in making some money finally will. The Post is reporting that Jeff Zucker, NBC Universal’s CEO and president, is going to have to leave his job when Comcast — in the midst of acquiring 51 percent of NBCU from current owner General Electric — takes over. The Post says the two companies have put together an exit package for Zucker that will go into effect “a couple of months” after Comcast takes over and will pay Zucker between $30 and $40 million. (Zucker already makes $6.3 million per year, with a bonus between $1.5 million and $4.5 million. He made that even during the year he said of Vulture hero and Knight Rider genius Ben Silverman, “I can’t imagine doing this [job] with somebody else“.) Zucker, the man who fired Conan, has been CEO since 2007 — between 2008 and 2009, profit at NBCU fell 28 percent — and he just had his contract extended, with both Comcast and GE saying that he would stay on through 2013. Though GE is denying the report, it seems likely Zucker will now be out much sooner, giving him a chance to get an early jump on that political career and giving someone else a chance to save NBC.

NBC boss eyes $30M+ exit deal from Comcast [NYP]