Topline
Jeff Shell is stepping down from his post as CEO of NBCUniversal after admitting to an “inappropriate relationship with a woman in the company,” Shell and NBCUniversal parent Comcast announced Sunday, departing the media company after almost two decades.
Jeff Shell speaks onstage at the Milken Institute Global Conference on May 4, 2016, in Beverly … [+]
Key Facts
In a brief statement, Comcast said Shell and the company “mutually agreed” to part ways after an investigation by outside counsel.
Shell’s last day at the company was Sunday.
Shell—who served as CEO for just over three years—did not offer any details about the behavior that led up to his departure, but said in a statement shared by Comcast “I deeply regret” the relationship and “I’m truly sorry I let my Comcast and NBCUniversal colleagues down.”
What We Don’t Know
Comcast did not specify who will replace Shell. Senior executives at NBCUniversal will report to Comcast President Mike Cavanagh, according to a memo obtained by the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.
Key Background
Shell has worked at Comcast for 19 years, and has held leadership positions at its NBCUniversal subsidiary since shortly after Comcast bought the media company 12 years ago. He was promoted to NBCUniversal chief executive in 2020, replacing retiring CEO Steve Burke. The company launched streaming service Peacock in the first few months of Shell’s tenure as CEO, seeking to compete with well-established platforms like Netflix and begin the transition from traditional television to digital viewing. With around 20 million paid subscribers, Peacock lags behind competitors like Netflix, HBO Max and Disney+ and is projected to lose $3 billion this year, though Comcast executives say the streaming service doubled its subscriber base last year and expect its financial losses to “steadily improve” after this year.
Tangent
NBCUniversal and its competitors have faced tumult over allegations of inappropriate behavior by high-level staff. NBC fired former Today anchor Matt Lauer in 2017 due to rape and sexual harassment allegations, which he has denied, and NBC News faced stiff criticism in 2019 after former reporter Ronan Farrow accused network leadership of stifling his reporting on sexual misconduct by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. NBCUniversal Vice Chair Ron Meyer also left the company three years ago after disclosing a settlement to a woman with whom he had an affair, though he said other parties were trying to “extort” him. CNN President Jeff Zucker resigned last year due to an undisclosed relationship with a CNN colleague whom he first worked with at NBCUniversal—Zucker described their relationship as consensual. Meanwhile, CBS’s longtime CEO Les Moonves stepped down following sexual harassment allegations in 2018, a year after the network fired CBS This Morning host Charlie Rose due to alleged sexual harassment. Fox News fired its now-deceased founder and Chair Roger Ailes and pushed out host Bill O’Reilly in 2016 and 2017, respectively, due to sexual harassment allegations (Moonves, Rose, Ailes and O’Reilly all denied many of the allegations against them).
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/joewalsh/2023/04/23/nbcuniversal-ceo-jeff-shell-steps-down-over-inappropriate-relationship/