Lights! Camera! Bean Counters!

摘要

These are tense times for General Electric Co.'s NBC unit, and not just because Monica and her friends have sipped their last cup of java on Thursday nights. On May 11, GE is scheduled to make its biggest move into entertainment since it bought the network in 1985. In a hoopla-filled press conference, NBC Chairman Robert C. Wright will announce the deal's closing-then head to Los Angeles to try to win over a wary set of top executives at the Universal studio, theme park, and cable unit he's buying. For the $134 billion GE, which has made thousands of acquisitions, melding corporate cultures, while never easy, isn't a new experience. But in merging the traditionally free-spending Universal with NBC executives weaned on financial discipline, Wright & Co. may find their trip to Hollywood more of a challenge than most acquisitions. Just days before closing the deal, Universal released the special-effects-laden horror flick Van Helsing, which cost $200 million to make and market. The film, starring Hugh Jackman, has gotten tepid Internet reviews, and even a huge opening may not keep the film from losing money-and diluting the profits that NBC hopes might be reaped from a rush of cross-promotions.