GE chairman squelches longstanding rumors
"The good news is that GE likes NBC," GE chairman Jack Welch said at a reception introducing newly appointed NBC News president Andrew Lack. "NBC is not for sale. GE wants to be part of NBC -- and I guess some might feel that's bad news."
The move marks something of a departure in that NBC executives have officially had no comment regarding the longstanding sale rumors surrounding the network, which have circulated widely for the past two years and featured scenarios ranging from a straight sale to a studio to parceling off assets piecemeal.
NBC president-CEO Robert C. Wright, who flanked Welch at Monday's event, told reporters at an event last year that he had no intention of commenting on network sales rumors, saying such reports had been "much too much in the press."
More recently, a new flurry of speculation on the web's fate was set off by an article in the New Yorker that said NBC was interested in selling its entertainment division for $ 500 million to $ 1 billion (Daily Variety, March 9 ).
"Jack (Welch) decided that when we announced who would be the new president of NBC News it would be a good time for GE to reaffirm its commitment to the network and state flatly it wasn't for sale," Wright said Monday. "We've both felt that the constant stories saying that we are on the block were overshadowing so much of the positive things we have accomplished here."
The timing of the statement is also intriguing in that it follows Federal Communications Commission action that, if it comes to fruition, would greatly relax the financial interest and syndication rules constraining the networks, theoretically making it easier to coordinate a network-studio merger.
Rumors have persisted about an NBC sale in part due to GE's reputed lack of patience with under-performing divisions. The Peacock network was No. 1 for six consecutive seasons before falling to second place last year and third during the current '92-93 season. GE acquired RCA and with it the net in 1986.
"We've come through some stuff in this last little episode," Welch said to staffers in reference to the "Dateline NBC" flap, "but we've had lapses in judgment before in all kinds of businesses in GE. It's over and it's behind us and we're on to great new things."
That "little episode" toppled Lack's predecessor, Michael Gartner, and three producers of the prime time news magazine after GM exacted an embarrassing on-air apology from the network for rigging a GM truck to explode in a side-impact crash.
"The embattled and beleaguered days of NBC News are over," Lack said at a reception. "Everything we need to succeed is in place. We will get the resources we need to strengthen us, to be as competitive as we need to be."
NBC will launch a second news hour, "NBC's Prime Story," on June 23. Lack was most recently the exec producer of CBS' "Street Stories" and is known for his skill at crafting prime time news shows.
Among the other challenges Lack inherits are improving results for "The NBC Nightly News," currently No. 3 among the nightly newscasts.
