Executive Shuffle: NBC's Zaslav Takes Over As Discovery CEO

NBC Universal is beginning to look like a super farm team that grooms executives for other media companies.

A day after NBC Universal Television Group President Randy Falco moved to AOL as its new chairman, David Zaslav, president of NBC Universal Cable and Domestic TV and New Media Distribution, has taken a top spot at Discovery Communications as its president and CEO.

Zaslav takes over the post occupied by longtime Discovery executive Judith Hale. Discovery announced that Hale would be departing from the job earlier this year.

Zaslav has been instrumental in NBC's growing stable of cable channels, as well as responsible for NBC Universal's overall strategy and content-distribution deals covering a variety of digital platforms.

Zaslav, a former entertainment lawyer, was competing for the job with Greg Dyke, one-time BBC executive and current Discovery board member.

Like Falco, Zaslav was highly regarded by Bob Wright, chairman of NBC Universal. But for both, a rise through the NBC ranks would have been limited--with Jeff Zucker, chairman of NBC Universal Television Group, poised to take over Wright's job when he retires.

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