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Old August 25th, 2003, 06:27 AM   #91
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Default From the Financial Times:

Bidders finalise Vivendi US offers

Bidders for Vivendi Universal's US film and television businesses put the finishing touches to their offers over the weekend as executives of the embattled French group prepared for a board meeting expected to decide the outcome of the long-running auction.

In a flurry of meetings and phone calls, NBC, the broadcasting arm of General Electric, and a consortium led by Edgar Bronfman Jr, the former chief executive of Seagram, finalised their offers for Vivendi Universal Entertainment, the holding company for the group's movie studio, television and theme park businesses.

The rival bids leave Vivendi's board, which is scheduled to meet in Paris tomorrow, facing a stark choice between the long-term attractions of a strong strategic partner such as NBC and the immediate certainty of a substantial amount of cash, as proposed by Mr Bronfman. Liberty Media, the investment group controlled by John Malone, has also submitted an offer but it is thought to be the least attractive of the three.

Vivendi's management, led by Jean-René Fourtou, chairman and chief executive, are understood to favour a deal with NBC, which owns the leading US broadcasting network, as the best strategic fit for VUE.

NBC has proposed merging its business with VUE in a non-cash deal that would leave Vivendi with a minority stake in the combined group. However, NBC's chances of securing a deal may rest on the provisions it has put in place to guarantee Vivendi the ability to sell its stake relatively quickly after the deal is completed.

Accepting the NBC deal would force Vivendi to abandon its target of raising €7bn ($7.6bn) from disposals by the end of the year. But Vivendi may be able to secure some of its debt against a promise by NBC to buy back the stake for a guaranteed minimum price.

Mr Bronfman's bid includes $8bn in cash and assumed debt which would represent an immediate solution to Vivendi's liquidity problems. While the offer would also require Vivendi to keep a minority stake for a period of time, the value of the shareholding would be smaller than that envisioned by NBC's offer, and therefore easier to sell.

Nevertheless, Mr Bronfman's offer still falls short of Vivendi's $14bn asking price for VUE and could force the company to take a further write-down on the value of assets
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Old August 25th, 2003, 09:41 AM   #92
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They will go with NBC, cash flow in nolonger negative. Fourtou has stated Vivendi nolonger NEEDS to sell Universal. The NBC deal also avaoids a major tax bite Bronfmans bid contains.
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Old August 25th, 2003, 01:30 PM   #93
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Quote:
Originally posted by repcisg
They will go with NBC, cash flow in nolonger negative. Fourtou has stated Vivendi nolonger NEEDS to sell Universal. The NBC deal also avaoids a major tax bite Bronfmans bid contains.
I hope you're right repcisg!

Regards,

Peter
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Old August 26th, 2003, 07:03 PM   #94
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Me too Repcisg ......I'm praying that you're right.
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Old August 28th, 2003, 02:26 PM   #95
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Default Temper, temper!

From imdb.com:

Bronfman Attacks NBC's Vivendi Deal

Edgar Bronfman Jr. lashed out at a possible deal between Vivendi Universal and NBC, saying that it did not represent VU selling its entertainment assets. "It's VU buying an interest in NBC," he told the London Financial Times. "They're turning over the keys to the car, hoping someone else will drive it faster and that someone else will pay more for the car 10 miles down the road." He called on CEO Jean-René Fourtou to stick to his original strategy to take cash and pull Vivendi out of the entertainment business. Fourtou and Bronfman reportedly held talks in New York on Wednesday but declined to discuss the results of their meeting.
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Old August 30th, 2003, 05:54 AM   #96
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Default From reuters.com

Bronfman under pressure in final Vivendi push

By Merissa Marr and Kirstin Ridley

LONDON, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Edgar Bronfman Jr is making a last-ditch push for Vivendi Universal's show business empire but is facing growing tensions among his backers as he fights for a place at Hollywood's top table, sources close to the sale said.

In a battle that could be concluded as early as next week, Bronfman is under pressure from an impatient consortium as he pulls out the stops to improve his $13 billion bid and head off a rival offer from auction favourite NBC, the sources said.

Seagram scion Bronfman has been fighting to the wire with NBC since Paris-based media giant Vivendi shied away from picking a winner in its entertainment auction on Tuesday, fuelling fears that Bronfman was being used as a stalking horse.

"There's a lot of tension within the Bronfman consortium... but Bronfman looks determined to have a last roll of the dice to try to get exclusivity," said one source.

"There's a feeling that the NBC deal is the one that Vivendi really wants."

Spokespeople for Bronfman and Vivendi declined to comment.

Initially seen as an outside bet, Bronfman has thrown his all into buying back the Universal business his family sold to Vivendi three years ago, bringing on board cable company Cablevision Systems Corp. and several private equity houses.

For Bronfman, the Universal deal is about more than simply recouping the money his family lost as their Seagram investment in Vivendi tumbled along with the value of Vivendi's shares, a deal he masterminded. He is also seeking to restore his pride.

Every decision needs the approval of a coterie of backers, which are growing nervous about committing cash to a project that has dragged on for more than three months as talks between Vivendi and arch-rival NBC gain pace, the sources said.

But the hammer could be about to fall. One source close to the auction said Vivendi could reach a decision next week, adding that Chief Executive Jean Rene Fourtou would not necessarily need to call a board meeting to pick a winner.

"It's possible but unpredictable," the source said.


SPRUCING UP THE TERMS

Vivendi must now decide between two very different proposals -- a cash-rich Bronfman deal that would help it meet debt reduction targets or an equity-rich NBC deal that would allow it to keep its finger in the Hollywood pie for longer.

Bronfman, a Vivendi vice chairman who put his executive duties on hold to pursue his bid, lifted his offer to just over $13 billion ahead of Vivendi's board meeting on Tuesday and has since been tweaking his terms, another source said.

Bronfman has offered around $6.5 billion in cash, staggered over three months, but would like to raise that to $8 billion if he can get his backers' agreement, the source said.

Vivendi would also take a stake in a new entity, but has yet to agree on the size, one source said. The Bronfman camp wants to give Vivendi just under 20 percent -- but Vivendi wants more.

Bronfman's consortium, which includes private equity firms Blackstone and Thomas H Lee, would take on about $2 billion of debt while Cablevision would contribute some of its channels.

Under a deal with General Electric's NBC, Vivendi's film and TV business would merge with NBC's broadcast network, Spanish- language network and cable channels including CNBC and Bravo. Vivendi would take a stake of 20 to 25 percent in the business.

The NBC deal does not offer the cash to meet Vivendi's stated target to cut debt by 7.0 billion euros this year.

However, NBC has presented a deal that would allow Vivendi to sell pieces of a stake in a combination over time and potentially raise cash against a future commitment by General Electric to buy part of its stake, one source has said.

NBC declined to comment.
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Old August 30th, 2003, 01:56 PM   #97
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Personally I don't think "HE" should be lashing out at
anything .....................IF you ask me ...............

The NBC deal is the best thing around and with all
the mergers that are being approved .......I
really don't see what the problem is.
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Old September 1st, 2003, 01:26 AM   #98
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Default From NY Times:

Vivendi Said to Now Favor an NBC Deal

By ANDREW ROSS SORKIN and BILL CARTER

fter months of haggling with more than half a dozen bidders, Vivendi Universal is near a preliminary agreement to merge its entertainment assets with General Electric's NBC division, executives close to the talks said yesterday.

Vivendi has scheduled a special board meeting tomorrow in Paris, where it is based, to approve the outlines of a deal with NBC and begin exclusive negotiations with it on final details, the executives said.

Still, a deal with NBC is far from a certainty. Edgar Bronfman Jr., the Seagram heir who stepped down from Vivendi's board to pursue his own bid, spent the weekend lobbying Vivendi's board and management, making the point that his offer is better than NBC's.


While his late effort appeared to have swayed some friends and former colleagues who remain on the board, the executives said, it remained unlikely yesterday that he had gathered enough support to prevail.

In anticipation of being named the favored bidder, General Electric's chairman, Jeffrey R. Immelt and NBC's chairman, Robert C. Wright, have scheduled an internal conference call this morning with public relations staff members to discuss strategy for a possible announcement tomorrow, executives close to the company said.

Still, the executives said, NBC is hedging its bets and is preparing two news releases: one to say that it has agreed to a preliminary deal and the other that it was not chosen.

Even if NBC does enter into exclusive negotiations with Vivendi, the talks could collapse. General Electric is known as a tough negotiator and could balk as delegates from both companies hammer out the finer points of the transaction, a process that could still take weeks, the executives cautioned.

Vivendi has been pressing NBC hard, seeking to nail down as many details as possible before tomorrow, the executives said, because once a choice is announced, it would lose any leverage it had to play NBC off Mr. Bronfman's consortium. But executives close to NBC said they still had more due diligence to pursue and were resisting pressure to settle on details.

At the same time, Vivendi is holding out the possibility that it could pursue an initial public offering, aligning itself with some other company. But that appears to be more a negotiating ploy than a truly attractive option that the board is considering seriously, the executives said.

Vivendi's American entertainment assets include film and television studios, the USA and Sci-Fi cable channels, and an interest in the Universal theme park business. Those assets, known as Vivendi Universal Entertainment, include the Universal Music business, though the music company is not for sale.

NBC has long been Vivendi's favored bidder, despite the fact that its offer includes little in the way of cash, because of General Electric's strong management reputation. NBC is offering Vivendi a partnership in a combined NBC-Universal entertainment conglomerate, in which it could sell its stake over a period of time or possibly through an initial offering of the unit. By agreeing on a deal without any cash now, Vivendi would be betting that NBC's management will help raise the value of the combined unit so much that it is worth waiting to cash out later.

Mr. Bronfman's group, on the other hand, would buy a majority stake in Vivendi's entertainment assets — with at least $8 billion in cash — valuing the entire company at a little more than $12 billion, but less than the $14 billion V9ivendi is said to be seeking.

Mr. Bronfman spent the day yesterday in conference calls with Vivendi board members and executives, hoping to leverage his old relationships with them in a way to induce the company to reconsider his proposal. Among others, Mr. Bronfman is said to have a longstanding relationship with Paul Fribourg, chief executive of an agribusiness company, the ContiGroup Companies, who was named to the Vivendi Universal board last year. Mr. Fribourg is also close to Jean-René Fourtou, Vivendi's chairman, and sometimes advises him on dealings in the United States.

But Mr. Bronfman's hard-charging negotiating tactics may have backfired. According to the executives, recent comments of his quoted in press accounts that were critical of NBC's offer enraged many members of Vivendi's board and especially provoked the ire of Mr. Fourtou.

On Thursday, Mr. Bronfman, who remains a large shareholder in Vivendi, told The Financial Times that a deal between Vivendi and NBC would be "exactly the wrong outcome," adding that NBC executives "have never run a studio, an entertainment cable network or a theme park."

If the decision goes NBC's way, tomorrow's board meeting may end an almost yearlong competition for the Vivendi Universal assets. Beyond NBC and Mr. Bronfman's group, as well as Liberty Media, Viacom and MGM, expressions of interest have come from the Comcast Corporation and from a group headed by the investor Marvin Davis.

But if talks with NBC drag on, the uncertainty could affect Vivendi's underlying business. Just last week, Ron Meyer, the president of Universal Studios, acknowledged that the auction process was taking something of a toll within Universal.
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Old September 1st, 2003, 07:30 PM   #99
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Tomorrow is the day -- the auction winner should be announced.

Will NBC get the 'go-ahead' or will Edgar Bronfman get Universal Entertainment back?

Stay tuned....tomorrow should be interesting!

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Old September 1st, 2003, 08:37 PM   #100
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Keep us posted on how the sale goes. I have to work late tomorrow and may not get the chance to see the results anywhere else. I does sound interesting!!

Thanks,
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Old September 2nd, 2003, 11:16 AM   #101
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Just saw this and thought you-all would be interested: Vivendi and GE/NBC are going into exclusive negotiations:

http://www.comcast.net/News/BUSINESS...abe7af323.html

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Old September 2nd, 2003, 12:10 PM   #102
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Thank you Dawg for the up date!

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Old September 2nd, 2003, 12:34 PM   #103
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Yahoo!!!

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Old September 2nd, 2003, 01:17 PM   #104
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Quote:
Originally posted by Dawg
Just saw this and thought you-all would be interested: Vivendi and GE/NBC are going into exclusive negotiations:

http://www.comcast.net/News/BUSINESS...abe7af323.html

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Exclusive! now THAT has a very nice ring to it....Very nice!
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Old September 2nd, 2003, 02:05 PM   #105
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Quote:
Originally posted by peter noble
Yahoo!!!

Peter

!!!oohaY


That's how it sounded if you were standing behind Peter!!


Yabba-Dabba-Doooooooooooo!!
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Old September 2nd, 2003, 02:55 PM   #106
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LOL!

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Old September 5th, 2003, 04:54 PM   #107
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Bonnie is doomed!
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Old September 5th, 2003, 05:39 PM   #108
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Here is a question. Are any of them Battlestar Galactica fans and how come Battlestar Galactica fans are too poor to make a bid? LMAO

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Old September 7th, 2003, 08:42 PM   #109
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We're too "POOR" because we're saving up for the "MUSIC" to BSG and the DVD's!
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Old October 6th, 2003, 05:11 PM   #110
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According to what I heard on the radio tonight, the Universal/Vivendi/NBC deal HAPPENS tomorrow. There is a possibility that the theme parks will be affected in Florida as well.
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Old October 8th, 2003, 05:56 AM   #111
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Default My final post on this subject:

Vivendi finalises NBC Universal deal

Owen Gibson (Media Guardian - The Guardian, a UK newspaper)
Wednesday October 8, 2003


French media group Vivendi Universal has signed a final deal to combine its US film studios and cable TV channels with those of NBC-owner General Electric, creating an entertainment giant worth £26bn.

The marriage will bring together the film studio behind ET, Jaws and Jurassic Park and America's most popular television network, responsible for hit shows such The West Wing and ER.

Under the terms of the deal, which was broadly agreed last month, Vivendi will combine its Universal Studios film operation and cable channels, including the USA network and the Sci-Fi Channel, with GE's NBC.

The deal also includes Vivendi Universal's five US theme parks.

The former chief executive of Vivendi, Jean-Marie Messier, hoped to create a global converged media business and the NBC deal is the latest move in dismantling his dream.

Jean-René Fourtou, appointed chief executive last year after Mr Messier was dramatically ousted, has been forced to sell billions of pounds worth of assets to cut debt.

The new company, to be called NBC Universal, will compete with entertainment giants Walt Disney, MTV-owner Viacom and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, owner of Fox and DirecTV.

It will be 80% owned by General Electric and Vivendi will retain a fifth of the newly merged entity, with the option to sell its stake at fair market prices from 2006 onwards.

Mr Fourtou last month opted for the GE deal over an outright buyout by a consortium of investors headed by the Seagram heir, Edgar Bronfman Jnr, after a protracted auction process.

Bob Wright, the chief executive of NBC, will head the new operation and said today the agreement was a significant milestone in the history of the company.

"The combination of GE's and Vivendi Universal's respective media assets into a dynamic new company considerably strengthens our capabilities as a content provider and packager and sets the stage for long-term growth," he added.

The completion of the deal, expected to close formally early next year, leaves a question mark over the future of the former Channel 4 chief executive, Michael Jackson.

Mr Jackson, tipped as a possible future director general of the BBC, has overseen Vivendi's TV interests since leaving for the US in 2001.

In August he said he not think the NBC deal was a "particularly attractive approach".

Vivendi Universal Entertainment shareholders will receive £2.7bn in cash, with £2.3bn going directly to Vivendi.

Mr Fourtou today said the deal would help cut debt at the company to less than £3.5bn before the end of the year.

"This agreement will consolidate our media and telecommunications company. By the end of next year, Vivendi Universal will be a profitable company with a low level of debt and our teams will be motivated by the new prospects for growth," he added.

The two firms said the new company would have 2003 revenues of more than £7.8bn and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of almost £1.8bn.

Speaking to reporters on a conference call this morning, Mr Fortou said it made sense to sell the division because it was a "risk asset" for Vivendi.

The television channels were starting to suffer in negotiations with cable companies, he said, and would benefit from the bigger clout afforded by being part of NBC.

"The movie studios are doing very well but it is a cyclical business that needs to be strengthened. And the theme parks are going through a tough time," said Mr Fortou, who backtracked on an earlier indication he would step down next year by saying he may stay on as chairman.

Mr Fortou also said he was in negotiations with former VUE chief Barry Diller over a complex dispute about the stake the US media mogul still has in the division.

"We have to have talks with Barry Diller but these talks are not going to challenge the basic deal. On both sides of the table we agree this is an opportunity to clear up the agreements we made with Barry Diller two years ago," he said.

Mr Fortou said talks had already taken place with Mr Diller and, contrary to rumour, he had "always had a great personal rapport with Barry Diller. He's always been straightforward with me and he's very reliable".

The eventual settlement will see Mr Diller buying out Vivendi's share in his InterActive company, which owns Expedia and Hotels.com, for around £1.2bn, while Vivendi will use that money and proportion of the £2.3bn it is receiving from the deal to buy out Mr Diller's share in VUE.

Mr Fortou also admitted Vivendi Universal would eventually change its name as a result of the deal, dropping the famous Universal mark and bringing down the curtain on Mr Messier's Franco- American dream.
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Old October 8th, 2003, 06:09 AM   #112
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Quote:
Mr Jackson, tipped as a possible future director general of the BBC, has overseen Vivendi's TV interests since leaving for the US in 2001.

In August he said he not think the NBC deal was a "particularly attractive approach".
Gee, you think that he thinks his pink slip is in the mail today? Bye-bye Bonnie's boss... it's been real. (Just my guess at that comment)
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Old October 8th, 2003, 09:07 PM   #113
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Default My advice to NBC ...

Inspired by Jewel's sig: NBC, look at what SciFi has become. Look at Bonnie Hammer ... and aim for the chopping block!
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Old May 9th, 2004, 01:48 PM   #114
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Well folks, a little over a year ago, this thread started. The 2 articles below would seem to indicate that this tale has come to its conclusion.

Quote:
http://money.excite.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_...&date=20040503

TV network NBC names new entertainment president

Monday May 3, 8:37 PM EDT

(Adds quotes from Reilly, paragraphs 4-7)

By Steve Gorman

LOS ANGELES, May 3 (Reuters) - Months after he was placed in charge of prime-time development at NBC, Kevin Reilly was promoted on Monday to succeed Jeff Zucker as the U.S. television network's entertainment president.

Reilly's appointment comes as NBC and its rival networks are getting ready to present advertisers with their programming schedules for the forthcoming fall TV season and as NBC prepares to merge with the entertainment assets of Vivendi Universal (EAUG) (V)

In his new post as NBC Entertainment president, Reilly, 41, will expand his responsibilities from prime time to include daytime and late-night programming and development, as well as network scheduling and strategic planning overall.


With NBC poised once again to finish the season No. 1 in the ratings for the benchmark demographic of viewers aged 18 to 49, Reilly said he foresees no major departures in the network's direction as he steps into his new role on May 27.

"I'm going to be looking to find some fresh faces and fresh voices for the network," he told Reuters. "We are ready to see that next generation of hits, as dominant as we are, and that's really my focus right now."

Reilly said comedy development in particular was a priority, though he dismissed as "baloney" the notion that the impending departure of NBC veterans "Friends" and "Frasier" signaled the beginning of the end of the American sitcom.

Acknowledging that TV comedy as a genre "can sometimes feel very stale and predictable," Reilly said he wants "to give the talent the courage to get outside of that comfort zone and that predictable place" by offering a chance to "something new."

DECADE OF DOMINANCE

Reilly will report to Zucker, who was promoted in December to assume management of both news and entertainment for NBC and its various cable outlets, including Bravo, MSNBC, CNBC, and Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo.

"Kevin is perfectly positioned to help NBC continue its tremendous run," Zucker said in a statement. "He's worked hard on a promising new development slate for the next year that will extend NBC's brand and capitalize on our decade of dominance."

NBC, a unit of General Electric Co. (GE), has ranked for most of the past decade as as the No. 1 network in ratings among viewers aged 18 to 49, the demographic most broadcasters use as a gauge of prime-time success.

Zucker, who served as NBC Entertainment president for the past three years, is relocating to New York, where he is expected to exercise oversight over the Vivendi Universal Entertainment cable channels that will be part of the new NBC Universal, including the Trio, USA and Sci Fi networks.

Reilly, who began his NBC career more than 15 years ago, returned to the network in the fall of 2003 as president of prime-time development in a move widely seen as setting him up to succeed Zucker eventually.

He previously served as entertainment president for the FX cable channel, owned by News Corp. Ltd.'s (NCP) (NWS) Fox Entertainment Group Inc. (FOX), where he played a key role developing that network's first original drama series "The Shield" and helped expand its slate of original dramas.

Before that, Reilly was president of the powerhouse TV studio Brad Grey Television, overseeing pilot development of such shows as HBO mob drama "The Sopranos" and NBC comedies "Just Shoot Me" and "NewsRadio."

During his previous six-year tenure at NBC, Reilly supervised pilot development of the hospital drama "ER" and "Homicide: Life on the Street," and worked on the first season of long-running hit crime drama "Law & Order."


Quote:
http://www.thestreet.com/_excite/tec...0&alias=/ht/nw

NBC Universal Is Ready

By George Mannes
TheStreet.com Senior Writer
4/21/2004 2:04 PM EDT
Click here for more stories by George Mannes



Get set for the debut of NBC Universal.

The last hurdle to the merger of General Electric's (GE:NYSE - news - research) NBC and Vivendi Universal's (V:NYSE - news - research) U.S. entertainment subsidiary appeared to be cleared Wednesday.

Vivendi Universal and GE, which first announced the deal last October, say they hope to complete it in the next few weeks.

Following the deal's completion, NBC would go from being essentially a broadcast TV network to part of a multimedia conglomerate, one allied with the Universal movie studio, the Universal theme parks and other properties.

In that way, the new NBC Universal -- of which GE would be a majority shareholder -- would more closely resemble NBC's broadcast rivals such as ABC, part of Disney (DIS:NYSE - news - research) , and CBS, just one element of Viacom (VIA.B:NYSE - news - research) .

The deal also represents, for the French utility company Vivendi, part of a reasonably attractive exit strategy for its now-disavowed strategy of becoming a worldwide media conglomerate.

The relevant news Wednesday was that Vivendi Universal and Barry Diller's InterActiveCorp (IACI:NYSE - news - research) -- the minority shareholder of Vivendi Universal Entertainment, Vivendi's U.S. entertainment subsidiary -- said they'd settled certain legal differences blocking the deal.

More precisely, Vivendi and IACI said they have agreed "on the form of the letters of credit that would be issued to InterActiveCorp in order to defease certain covenants pursuant to the Vivendi Universal Entertainment Partnership Agreement in connection with the closing of the VUE-NBC transaction."

"Defeasing these covenants," the companies explained, "is a condition to closing the VUE-NBC transaction."

Previously, Diller had said NBC and Vivendi needed his approval before completing their deal, though it was unclear Tuesday at what price such approval came. An IACI spokeswoman declined to comment.

Wednesday's news comes one day after Vivendi announced that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission wouldn't block the proposed deal.

On Wednesday afternoon, GE's shares were up 3 cents to $30.50, Vivendi's were up 44 cents to $25.61 and IACI's were down 15 cents to $31.97.
__________________
Lay down
Your sweet and weary head
The night is falling
You have come to journey's end
Sleep now
And dream of the ones who came before
They are calling
From across the distant shore .


Children are a message that we send
to a time that we will never see.
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