NBC’s Sassa to Focus on Business Development

NBC is expected to announce this week a new role for Scott Sassa, president of NBC West Coast since May 1999.

Sassa, whose future has been the subject of speculation for more than a year, will focus on strategic and business development initiatives, working directly for NBC Chairman and Chief Executive Robert C. “Bob” Wright, according to sources close to the company.

NBC declined to comment.

The promotion is a vote of confidence in Jeff Zucker, who has been president of NBC Entertainment since December 2000. Zucker, who has reported to Sassa, will assume some of his boss’ responsibilities under the new arrangement, including the network’s in-house studio and syndication arms.

NBC is the top-rated network with the young upscale viewers that advertisers pay the most money to reach.

Sources say Sassa’s new status also underscores the continuing power struggle and friction at the top of NBC between Wright and his No. 2 executive, Andrew R. Lack. Lack was appointed president last summer, without Wright’s blessing, by Jack Welch, who was then chief executive of NBC parent General Electric Corp.

Although Sassa has had a tense relationship with Lack, he remains a close ally of Wright.

Sassa is expected to play a key role in determining a future course for NBC, which is the only major broadcast network that is not part of one of the few international giants that control the media business. ABC is owned by Walt Disney Co., and CBS is part of Viacom Inc.

One of Wright’s biggest challenges is finding a way to maintain NBC’s growth when network television economics are eroding and media consolidation has reduced the possible acquisition targets.

Although Wright has given Lack, former president of NBC News, the tasks of fixing the company’s MSNBC news channel and integrating its recent acquisition of Telemundo, sources said he will look to Sassa to squeeze more value out of under-performing investments such as Paxson Communications and ValueVision.

NBC sources said Sassa, who is more comfortable with a balance sheet than with a script, will be better suited to his new job than he was to Hollywood.

Before becoming NBC’s top entertainment executive, Sassa ran the company’s television station group.

He worked briefly for financier Ron Perelman after a nine-year stint at Turner Broadcasting System. He is credited with building Ted Turner’s family of channels, including TBS, TNT and Cartoon Network.