Jeff Zucker’s appointment to succeed Bob Wright as CEO of NBC Universal will be announced this week, according to the LA Times. Meg James said she was able to confirm the change but under anonymity because it was not yet official. Jeffrey Immelt, chairman of parent company GE, wants a shake up and he wants it sooner, not later. Wright, she reports, wanted to stay through the end of 2007 but Immelt is eager have his own team in place; Wright will remain as chairman for now. The job has been considered Zucker’s to lose although there was some talk last year about looking outside for answers. Wright—who has headed NBC for nearly 21 years—is the architect of today’s massive media conglomerate, moving the company into cable and eventually into the transforming deal with Vivendi Universal.  The take here is that Wright, 63, is too old-school GE while the more casual—and considerably younger—Zucker, 41, may better match today’s environment. (Wright was 42 when he got the job after GE acquired NBC from RCA in 1986.) As James notes, Wright is a lawyer and financial strategist while Zucker comes from the creative ranks. Zucker secured the job by fixing various problems at NBCU, cutting costs with NBC 2.0
Hard to say just yet what this means for NBCU’s digital strategy. Beth Comstock was an NBC vet who went to GE and came back to head digital and marketing for Wright. 
Update: Various reports have Zucker’s appointment being announced as early as Monday; the NBCU board meet then in New York, according to the NYT (The NYT wants everyone to know that even though they got beat on this story, the news was “presaged” in an interview with Immelt back in November. The story does not credit the LAT.)
WSJ:  The decision “reflects GE management’s view that a younger executive is needed to deal with the challenges posed by the Internet.” Also, “NBC Universal won’t name a replacement for Mr. Zucker as CEO of the NBC Universal Television Group, say people familiar with the matter, and ultimately may decide not to fill the job.”