“ Leno isn’t the only member of the NBC Universal family to be damaged in this process. CEO Jeff Zucker has been mercilessly mocked—even in Maureen Dowd’s column. With Universal chief Ron Meyer emerging as the hero in the saga and Jeff Gaspin having proved that he is capable of running those profitable NBC Universal cable channels very handily, the question asked—and asked, and asked again—is what purpose Zucker serves. Even if they weren’t already planning to be rid of Zucker, what can the owners-in-waiting at Comcast make of him now? “If I were those guys I’d be simply appalled,” says one former studio chairman.
