NBC CEO: Mobile content 'not that important'

NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker challenged mobile operators to improve the economics of the mobile content industry by offering entertainment companies a larger percentage of revenues. Speaking Friday alongside Sony CEO Howard Stringer, FCC chairman Kevin Martin and Google CEO Eric Schmidt at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Zucker said that carriers award just "10 percent of the economics to the content companies," which in turn provides little incentive for NBC Universal to devote much of its attention to the mobile platform. "It's actually not that important," Zucker said. "We're obviously playing in this world, but playing in a small way."

According to Zucker, consumer behaviors will force changes in the operator/content provider relationship. "The consumer will actually demand the content, and they'll demand a better experience. And it will force both of us to figure out the economics around who gets how much." Zucker added that NBC will nevertheless broadcast some 2,200 hours of live mobile coverage of the upcoming Summer Olympics, leading Fortune magazine senior editor David Kirkpatrick, moderator of the panel, to quip "That's pretty amazing from a company that doesn't consider wireless very important in the near term."

For more on Zucker's remarks:
- read this Hollywood Reporter article [1]

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