LOS ANGELES, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- NBC Universal is set to name Jeff Zucker to succeed chief executive Robert Wright, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Zucker, 41, who began his rise within the company as executive producer of "Today," will be announced this week as the new head of NBC Universal, four people at the company told the newspaper.
In 21 years on the job, Wright has overseen an expansion of NBC from a stand-alone TV network to a major media conglomerate with broadcast and cable channels, a Hollywood movie studio and theme parks, the newspaper said.
Jeffrey Immelt, chairman of General Electric Co., the owner of NBC Universal, is looking to shake up the entertainment unit and compete more aggressively against Google, MySpace and other digital operations, the Times said.
Wright, 63 -- who is also a vice chairman of GE -- had wanted to stay on as chief executive at least until the end of the year, sources told the newspaper, but Immelt insisted on making the change now.
GE and NBC Universal declined to comment.
