CNBC Press Releases

BURNETT: BUT IT DOES RAISE THE =QUESTION OF EVERYONE NOW IS TRYING TO SAY, JEFF, CONGRATULATIONS, NOW PLEASE COMEBACK AND WATCH US. WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO HAVE PEOPLE

ZUCKER: KEEP WATCHING. TO WATCH NBC?

BURNETT: UM-HMM.

ZUCKER: -ALL OF US WILL BE SAD TONIGHTAT 8:00 WE WON'T TUNE IN AND HAVE THE OLYMPICS. OBVIOUSLY WE COME BACK A BIT TO REALITY, BUT HOPEFULLY THIS HAS PROVIDED A PLATFORM FOR US TO PROMOTE OUR NEW SHOWS, HISTORIC THINK THIS ARE THERE HASN'T BEENA HUGE CORRELATION BETWEEN USING THAT PLATFORM AND WHAT HAPPENS IN THE FALL, BUT HOPEFULLY IT'S BETTER THAN NOT HAVING IT, AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN TAKE ON NBC SOME OF THAT SUCCESS AND LET IT CONTINUE INTO THE FALL, AND HOPEFULLY ENJOY THAT SUCCESS ON THE ENTERTAINMENT SIDE AS WELL.

BURNETT: ARE YOU READY FOR THE QUESTION?I'M GOING TO ASK IT IN A DIFFERENT WAY.

ZUCKER: REALLY? I'M SHOCKED TO COME OUT TO BEAUTIFUL CLIFFS AND NOT GET THIS QUESTION, BUT GO AHEAD.

BURNETT: IN THE "NEW YORK POST" YESTERDAY, THIS QUOTE WAS PRINTED LET'S BE CLEAR, THE SUCCESS OF THE OLYMPICS HAS ABSOLUTELY NO BEARING ON WHAT GE DECIDES TO DO WITH NBC UNIVERSAL.

ZUCKER: YOU CAN'T EVEN ASK WITH A =STRAIGHT FACE.

BURNETT: I KNOW I CAN'T I KNOW THE ANSWER, BUT THEY SAY THIS GIVES JEFF IMMELT A CHANCE TO DO WHAT ANY GOOD BUSINESSMAN WOULD DO SELL HIGH OR SPIN OFF. I KNOW THE ANSWER IS --

ZUCKER: THAT WOULD BE THE CASE ONLY IF YOU WERE INTERESTED IN SELLING, YOU KNOW, AND I THINK THAT JEFF IMMELT IN REITERATING THESE ARE THE WHIMS OF PEOPLE, AND NBC REMAINS A CRITICAL COMPONENT OF GENERAL ELECTRIC.

BURNETT: YOU'RE THE ONE THAT'S GETTING HIM ALL THE CHINA DEALS AND BOOSTING THE WHOLE COMPANY?

ZUCKER: NO, THAT'S NOW TRUE. GE IS INCREDIBLY STRONG ON ITS OWN, IN ITS BUSINESS IN CHINA. BUT THE FACT IS, LOOK, JEFF HAS BEEN VERY CLEAR ON THIS, AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN GREAT FOR USTO BE PART OF GENERAL ELECTRIC. WE WOULDN'T HAVE HAD THE OLYMPICS WITHOUT GENERAL ELECTRIC, NOBODY WOULD HAVE GIVEN US THE BACKING AND SUPPORT TO PUT DOWN THE INVESTMENT WE PUT DOWN, AND SO IT'S BEEN GREAT FOR US, AND I THINK IT'S BEEN GREAT FOR GE, AND WE'LL CONTINUETO BE PART OF THE COMPANY.

BURNETT: TWO BRIEF QUESTIONS, FIRST IN TERMS OF WHAT'S NEXT. YOU'VE BEEN ABLE TO GO OUT AND SPEND MONEY ON THINGS TO MAKE THE COMPANY BIGGER AND GROW. THE WEATHER CHANNEL, OXYGEN, WHAT'S NEXT IN TERMS OF REGIONS OR TYPES OF DEAL?

ZUCKER: JUST LAST WEEK WE ANNOUNCED ANOTHER DEAL TO ACQUIRE INTERNATIONAL TELEVISION PRODUCTION COMPANY IN THE UK CALLED CARNIVAL, SO YOU FACT IS, LOOK, WE'LL CONTINUE TO EVOLVE. WE'VE BEEN VERY ACTIVE, BUT WE'RE NOT GOING TO DO IT LIKE DRUNKEN SAILORS. WE'LL DO THINGS THAT MAKES SENSE TO CONTINUE TO GROW THE COMPANY AND POSITION OURSELVES FOR THE FUTURE. WE'LL BE IN FASTER-GROWING PARTS OF THE MEDIA BUSINESS, AND CLEARLY EXIT SLOWER-GROWING PARTS, SO THAT IT ALL MAKES SENSE. WE'VE BEEN VERY ACTIVE IN THE LAST 16 MONTHS. WE PROBABLY WON'T KEEP THAT PACEUP. WE'LL WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE INTEGRATING EVERYTHING PROPERLY,BUT WE'LL CONTINUE SMART AS WE GO FORWARD.

BURNETT: I'M NOT GOING TO ASK YOU AN AD QUESTION, BECAUSE THERE'S SO MUCH NOISE IN THE WATER, BUT IN TERMS OF THE OVERSEAS GROWTH QUESTION, BOB IGER TOLD TO ME WITH THIS OVERSEAS SLOWDOWN I'M NOT SEEING THIS SLOWDOWN, MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE SAYING, THE DATA KEEPS SAYING THERE'S A SLOWDOWN.

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