Outgoing NBC-Universal Chief Executive Officer Jeff Zucker took a page from the Allstate advertisements in wishing the company's staff well.
"With Comcast, I leave you in good hands and have no doubt that you will continue to do great things," Zucker wrote.
Having received federal approval on Monday, Comcast's acquisition of the media company is set to close on Jan. 28.
Zucker's departure was widely expected within the industry, particularly with NBC mired in fourth place among networks and a late night shuffling between Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien that turned into a public relations fiasco. However, he did not formally announce his exit until last September.
Zucker's contract with NBC Universal, earned him a base salary of $6.3 million and a guaranteed minimum annual bonus of $1.5 million.
The chief executive, who was often the target of scathing criticism from the media, chose to highlight some green shoots in the company's performance. He noted that for the fourth quarter, revenue was up 12 percent and operating profit rose 38 percent.
"I have been asked many times what I will miss the most about NBC Universal. That's easy. The wonderful people of this company. So many colleagues…so many friends. I will miss you all," Zucker wrote.
Here's the full text of the memo:
January, 21
GE reported its fourth quarter earnings today, and as I always do, I wanted to take the opportunity to share with you our results. As we approach the end of a lengthy transition period and the start of a new NBC Universal under new leadership, I am very pleased to say that the company is in extremely good shape.
For the fourth quarter of 2010, nearly every part of the company delivered very strong results. Revenue was up 12% to $4.8 billion, with operating profit up 38% from last year, to $830 million. Up thirty-eight percent, purely from performance. No one-time gains, no sales of assets. Our operating profit performance equaled the best quarterly performance since the merger of NBC and Universal in 2004.
In short, a great job by all, and I want to thank each one of you for your part in making sure we kept our focus, discipline, and creativity under circumstances that have had their share of distractions. You helped me achieve my most important goal, which was to make sure we handed off this company in excellent shape. I don't think we could have done more.
Let me just mention a few highlights from our divisions in the fourth quarter:
As has been the case consistently for quarter after quarter, our cable networks continued to hit it out of the park. As a group, cable operating profit posted double-digit growth. USA was No. 1 among cable entertainment networks for the fifth consecutive year, Bravo posted its fifth straight year of record ratings, and Oxygen had its best year ever.
