NBC UNIVERSAL BECOMES A REALITY MERGER GIVES PEACOCK SPOT NEAR MOUSE IN MEGA-MEDIA MENAGERIE.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

NBC formally acquired Vivendi Universal on Wednesday, putting the newly christened NBC Universal on equal footing with The Walt Disney Co. and Viacom Inc. as a media monolith crossing television, cable and film.

At a news conference held at NBC's Studio 8H in New York, upbeat executives touted everything from last week's stellar ratings for the finale of NBC's ``Friends,'' to the box-office grosses of Universal Pictures' ``Van Helsing,'' to improved theme-park attendance. And leaders projected that the company will reach $15 billion in revenues in 2005.

``We head into this new era primed for growth because both NBC and Universal are operating at the top of their game,'' said Bob Wright, chairman and chief executive officer of NBC Universal and vice chairman at parent company General Electric.

In addition to the NBC broadcast network and Universal Pictures film studio, NBC Universal has cable channels including USA, the Sci-Fi Channel, Bravo, MSNBC and CNBC; the ``Law & Order'' franchise and other shows; five theme parks; a 5,000-title film library; and the Telemundo Spanish-language television network.

This newly formed show-business powerhouse puts NBC and Universal Pictures in the position to pool their distribution and programming assets for greater profit and greater competitiveness and puts it more on the level of CBS parent Viacom and ABC parent The Walt Disney Co.

In the deal, share owners of Vivendi Universal Entertainment received $3.65 billion of cash consideration, of which Vivendi Universal got $3.4 billion, and NBC Universal assumed $1.7 billion in debt.

The merged company now has a total of 15,000 employees. Wright said he expects to eliminate about 500 redundant positions over the next few years but might add positions in other areas.

``Each side complements each other so well that we're really just adding pieces that the other doesn't have,'' he said.

GE owns 80 percent of NBC Universal, with Vivendi Universal having a 20 percent ownership interest. Paris-based Vivendi has been selling assets to cut down on its massive debt. The company could sell its interest down the line.

Universal Music Group, the world's largest music company, is not a part of the merger and is being kept by Vivendi.

``With its experienced management team and portfolio of valuable media assets, we expect NBC Universal to continue to benefit Vivendi Universal and its shareholders,'' said Jean-Rene Fourtou, chairman and CEO of Vivendi Universal, who also attended the news conference.

NBC Universal announced its executive team, to be headed by Wright, who also retains his position as vice chairman and executive officer of GE. Ron Meyer, president and chief operating officer of Universal Studios, will be responsible for the movie studio, Universal Pictures, and the company's theme parks. Jeff Zucker, president of the NBC Universal Television Group, will oversee all television programming - except for sports and the Olympics - for the new company.

Among others on the team are Randy Falco, president of the NBC Universal Television Networks Group, who will lead the company's commercial and operational organizations; Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports and Olympics, who will oversee USA Network's sports programming; and Jay Ireland, president of NBC Universal Television Stations, who will continue to head the group of stations owned and operated by the company.

Greg Hernandez, [phone]

greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

(color) Executives of the new NBC Universal answer questions Wednesday at a press conference in New York where they formally announced the merger of NBC and Vivendi Universal.

Dean Cox/Associated Press

Box:

The peacock spreads its wings

SOURCES: Hoovers Online; Time Warner; Nielsen Media Research

Associated Press