Zucker Visits Drexel

Legendary TV executive Jeff Zucker, former President and CEO of NBC Universal, will talk about the state of the TV industry at Drexel University on October 12.  Zucker became the youngest executive producer in the history of NBC’s “Today” show at the age of 26.  He later became the President and CEO of NBC Universal with oversight of the NBC network, MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, Syfy, USA Network, Oxygen, Telemundo, The Weather Channel, Universal Pictures, Universal Parks and Resorts and an array of online platforms. 

Zucker will present a free-wheeling conversation about his career, the state of television today, where it’s headed, what makes the “Today” show so popular, the importance of the web to the entertainment industry and a host of other topics on the television industry.  His free talk will be hosted by Drexel’s Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design on Wednesday, October 12, at 6:30 p.m. in the Bossone Research Center, Mitchell Auditorium (Market Street, between 31st and 32nd Streets).

Creative and controversial, Zucker has had a huge impact on the entertainment industry.  He stepped down from his position at NBC Universal earlier this year and will reunite with long-time friend and colleague Katie Couric, for a much-anticipated daytime talk show set to launch next year on the ABC network.  Zucker is a five-time Emmy Award winner.  During his tenure as head of NBC Entertainment, NBC's primetime, late-night and daytime lineups all finished first in the key adults 18-49 demographic category for three consecutive seasons - a feat unmatched by any other network. Under his leadership at “Today,” the program was the nation's most-watched morning news show and the most profitable program on television.

The conversation with Zucker is the first 2011-12 program on the intersection of media, journalism and business at the Kal & Lucille Rudman Institute for Entertainment Industry Studies. The Rudman Institute is led by executive director Karen Curry.  Curry has worked extensively in broadcast journalism with the “Today” show, as NBC News London Bureau Chief and as CNN’s Vice-President and New York Bureau Chief.

For more information on the event, visit http://www.drexel.edu/westphal