Managing in Troubled Times Case Study

NBC Universal Inc.: Managing in Troubled Times

OR

Abstract:
NBC Universal (NBCU) dominated US television from the 1970s till 2004 with its highly popular serials like Friends, Cheers, Seinfeld and Frasier. However, due to its failure to offer new entertaining shows since 2005, the company witnessed a decline in its viewership and was ranked fourth behind its competitors like FOX, ABC and CBS networks. In December 2005, NBCU made major changes in its top-level management and appointed Jeff Zucker as the CEO. It also planned to market its new shows through digital technology to reclaim its leadership position.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To understand the dynamics of the US television market and the critical success factors in that market
• To analyse the reasons behind the loss of viewership of NBCU
• To debate whether Jeff Zucker's revival strategies would help NBCU to reclaim its leadership in US television.

Keywords : American Television Industry; Nielsen Television Ratings; Friends; HANA; Ivillage; GE’s Imagination Breakthrough; Jeff Zucker; Turnaround Strategies; Managing in Troubled Times Case Study; Webisodes; Martha Stewart

Contents:

• NBCU: The Need of the Hour
• NBCU: Strategies to Reclaim its Leadership