NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell is leaving Comcast, effective immediately. The telecommunications giant made the surprise announcement in a terse press release he issued on Sunday. Following an investigation launched by an allegation of inappropriate behavior, Comcast says it reached a “mutual” decision with Shell that he should step down from his role.
“Today is my last day as CEO of NBCUniversal. I had an inappropriate relationship with a woman in the company, which I deeply regret,” Shell said in a joint statement. “I am truly sorry to have let my colleagues down at Comcast and NBCUniversal, they are the most talented people in the business and the opportunity to work with them for the past 19 years has been a privilege.”
Comcast has not named a successor to Shell. In a memo obtained by VarietyComcast CEO Brian Roberts and Chairman Mike Cavanagh told employees they were “disappointed” to share the news. “We built this company on a culture of integrity. Nothing is more important than how we treat each other. You must count on your leaders to create a safe and respectful workplace,” they wrote. “When our principles and policies are violated, we will always move quickly to take appropriate action, as we have done here.”
Shell joined Comcast in 2004. He became CEO of NBCUniversal in 2020. That same year, he oversaw the launch of Peacock. Shell leaves NBCUniversal without having made the streaming service profitable. Earlier this year, Comcast told investors that it had added five million paying subscribers during the last three months of 2022. Yet, during that same period, the company lost nearly a billion dollars operating the service.
