The heads of NBC’s major news divisions—including NBC News, CNBC and MSNBC—will report to Cesar Conde as part of the reorganization.
Photo: mike segar/ReutersAndy Lack will exit as head of NBCUniversal’s news operations at the end of the month, concluding a tenure marked by several controversies.
Cesar Conde, chairman of the Telemundo Spanish-language channel and NBCUniversal International Group, will head a newly expanded news unit. The news division has been through a tumultuous few years, including an experiment with former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly that flopped and the exit of morning star Matt Lauer after sexual harassment allegations, which he denied.
The changes are part of a broader restructuring the media company is undertaking in a rapidly changing media landscape. It is putting streaming video at the center of its entertainment operations as it plans for the future, making its Peacock streaming service part of a new unit that will include the NBC broadcast network, cable channels such as USA and Bravo, and international networks. That unit, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, will be led by Mark Lazarus, who will also continue to helm the NBC sports group and NBC-owned TV stations.
The sweeping reorganization shows that NBCUniversal Chief Executive Jeff Shell, who took over this year from longtime boss Steve Burke, is starting to put his stamp on the company. The changes are meant to put NBCUniversal, a unit of Comcast Corp., on stronger footing as consumers move away from traditional TV to streaming and get more of their news on digital platforms.
“This is the right structure to lead NBCUniversal into the future during this transformational time in the industry,” said Mr. Shell.
Some of Mr. Shell’s restructuring ideas were accelerated by the coronavirus crisis, which will put increased financial pressure on the company, a person familiar with the situation said. NBCUniversal has closed its theme parks and is bracing for a decline in ad spending. The pandemic also led to the cancellation of the summer Olympics, which NBCUniversal has rights to broadcast, and could affect the NFL and college football seasons.
Mr. Shell is looking to make operations leaner in some parts of the company, including its cable entertainment networks, which have been hurt by cord-cutting, and to put more resources into promising areas like studio production and entertainment, the person said.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that NBCUniversal was considering significant layoffs as it deals with the financial fallout of the pandemic.
Before the restructuring, Mr. Lack had been set to leave after the 2020 presidential election. The end of his tenure will turn the page on a rocky era in the news unit.
Mr. Lack has been heading news operations since 2015. When he started, the unit was reeling from the revelation that “Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams had falsely claimed to have been in a helicopter struck by a rocket-propelled grenade while reporting from Iraq.
Mr. Lack put Lester Holt in as anchor of “Nightly News” and gave Mr. Williams a late-night newscast on MSNBC, where he has built a steady following. MSNBC enjoyed a surge in ratings in the 2016 presidential election cycle and its aftermath, as did its rivals.
In 2017, he announced a decision to hire Ms. Kelly on a three-year $69 million deal to host a daily hour of “Today” and a weekly prime-time news show. Both bets failed and viewership was disappointing. Ms. Kelly left the network and was paid out the entire value of her contract.
Also in 2017, Mr. Lauer was fired for inappropriate sexual conduct after one of his colleagues filed a detailed complaint about his behavior. Mr. Lauer has said some of the accusations against him were untrue. After Mr. Lauer’s firing, NBC conducted an internal investigation and found that Mr. Lauer often engaged in sexually oriented banter with colleagues, adding that some employees were afraid to come forward with complaints because of fears that they could be retaliated against.
Critics said NBCNews sat on a story detailing allegations of sexual misconduct against film producer Harvey Weinstein, as reported by Ronan Farrow. Mr. Lack has said the story was not ready to be aired when Mr. Farrow left the network.
The appointment of Mr. Conde cements his rise at NBCUniversal, which he joined in 2013 after serving as president of Univision, a rival Spanish-language network. Telemundo closed the ratings gap with Univision under Mr. Conde’s leadership, in part by airing edgy narconovelas-—soap operas about Mexican drug lords—during the network’s prime-time hours. Mr. Conde is on the boards of Walmart Inc. and PepsiCo Inc.
Mr. Conde will take over NBC News and MSNBC and under the expanded unit, NBCUniversal News Group, he will also oversee CNBC. Mr. Conde inherits a news operation that could face significant challenges during the pandemic, as advertisers pull back. MSNBC hasn’t seen viewership rise as much as CNN and Fox News during the crisis.
Viewership has been up for NBC’s morning show “Today” and “Nightly News,” amid a broader jump in broadcast news ratings during the pandemic. So far this season, “Nightly News” and “Today” trail ABC’s “World News Tonight” and “Good Morning America” in viewers but are in first place in the key news demographic of viewers aged 25 to 54.
The restructuring will greatly expand the portfolio of Mr. Lazarus and put much of the future of the company in his hands. In his new role, Mr. Lazarus will have oversight over Peacock, which will bring together content from across NBCUniversal properties as well as older movies and TV shows, including the hit comedy “The Office.”
Peacock is available to Comcast customers and will go live nationally later this year. A free version of Peacock will have 7,500 hours of TV shows and movies, and some sports. Peacock Premium, which will have full seasons and more programming, including sports, will be offered for $4.99 a month with commercials, while an ad-free version will be available for $9.99.
Mr. Lazarus takes over the NBC broadcast unit and Peacock at a time of uncertainty as virtually all entertainment production has shut down during the pandemic. If the stoppage goes on for months, the pipeline of original programming could run dry and programmers could find it more challenging to satisfy viewers and subscribers.
One of Mr. Lazarus’s priorities will be to reach a new long-term deal with the National Football League to keep “Sunday Night Football” at NBC.
Write to Benjamin Mullin at Benjamin.Mullin@wsj.com and Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com
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