Media Notes
The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Turner & Roxborough report Europe's state broadcasters Thursday were "mulling the outcome of the European Broadcasting Union's [EBU] failure to net a group deal to secure rights" to the 2016 Olympics, conceding that they "will now face a national 'free-for-all' to secure the rights." The collapse of the EBU's Europe-wide offer to the IOC "means that broadcasters in each member country will have to bid for the rights." German public broadcaster ARD Program Dir Volker Herres said the IOC's revenue expectations for the 2016 Games rights are "exorbitant." German public broadcaster ZDF Editor-in-Chief Nikolaus Brender said that it is "'highly doubtful' the IOC would be able to get more money through individual deals across Europe" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 12/5).
TRIMMING THE FEATHERS: MULTICHANNEL NEWS' Mike Farrell cited an exec source as saying that NBC Universal "could slash as many as 500 jobs across the company, or about 3% of its total workforce." The cuts are "part of a plan engineered" by NBCU President & CEO Jeff Zucker, who in an October memo said that the cuts "would slash $500[M] from NBCU's overall budget and called on division heads to tighten their belts on staffing, promotional expenses and discretionary spending on travel, entertainment and outside consultants." A source said that the job cuts will be "across the board and will affect each division differently" (MULTICHANNEL.com, 12/4). Meanwhile, NBC network sources said that CNBC could see around 55 jobs cut, lower than the previously reported 80. In N.Y., Peter Lauria reports NBC's news division is "likely to be the hardest-hit because it is the company's largest unit." Sources said that in addition to layoffs at NBC's L.A. and Dallas bureaus, staffers will be cut at "Today," "Nightly News" and "Dateline" (N.Y. POST, 12/5).
NOTES: The Cubs have extended the contract of TV play-by-play announcer Len Kasper through the 2011 season. Kasper in '09 will enter his fifth season in the role (Cubs)....Rogers SportsNet has "pulled NFL commentator Chris Landry off the air and removed his column from Sportsnet.ca following an allegation of plagiarism," as some of Landry's columns have "contained word for word passages" from NationalFootballPost.com (GLOBE&MAIL.com, 12/4)....BOSTON SPORTS MEDIA WATCH's David Scott reports Boston Globe golf writer Jim McCabe is "leaving the paper to take a job with an unspecified golf magazine" (BOSTONSPORTSMEDIA.com, 12/4).
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