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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, The Post has learned.
Comcast’s point man on the integration, Chief Operating Officer Steve Burke, has started signing contracts and is expected to unveil a final management structure around Thanksgiving.
Both USA Network chief Bonnie Hammer and Lauren Zalaznick, who oversees cable channels Bravo and Oxygen, are expected to remain in their present jobs but with some added responsibilities.
The cable chiefs are often viewed as rivals and there was some speculation that Comcast would be forced to choose between them in a reorganization of NBCU’s powerful cable division.
One executive close to negotiations said Zalaznick, the president of NBC Universal’s Women and Lifestyle Entertainment Networks, signed a new contract to stay on as recently as last week.
There were rumors that Zalaznick would take a top job at MTV Networks if she didn’t get a bid for a bigger role at NBCU, but she may have overplayed her hand.
Zalaznick was spotted chatting with Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman at a roast for outgoing NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker and is currently working the conference circuit talking up her corporate assets.
Meanwhile, the former president of entertainment for Showtime, Bob Greenblatt, is the only outsider with an inside track to a big programming role at NBCU, although Burke is talking to others.
Programming is currently overseen by Marc Graboff, the co-chair of NBC Entertainment and NBCU TV Studios. It’s unclear what happens to Graboff in the shuffle.
As for NBC Universal Television Entertainment Chairman Jeff Gaspin, sources said he could take a role similar to that of Randy Falco, who was COO of NBCU TV Group, a role that focuses on day-to-day operations rather than programming development.
Gaspin doesn’t appear to be the only candidate for the job. If he gets it, however, he would occupy a new layer of management right below Burke, who is replacing Zucker.
Gaspin would also oversee the news division, run by NBC News Chief Steve Capus, who used to report directly to Zucker. An executive close to Capus said he is expecting a new layer of management above him.
As The Post reported, NBC Olympics chief Dick Ebersol will stick around to help guide Comcast’s Olympic aspirations. He was a no-show at the recent roast for outgoing NBC chief Zucker, who noted Ebersol’s conspicuous absence.
Staffers at NBCU have been anxious to hear details of a new management structure, while senior NBC executives have been carping about being kept in the dark for so long.
A final organizational structure was expected around Labor Day, then some time in October.
Comcast declined to comment.