NBC: A good match for Yahoo?

Steve Rosenbush

Yahoo!'s management shakeup, which left CFO Susan Decker the clear successor to CEO Terry Semel, is probably just the first of many changes.

Some investment bankers say the company still could make an attractive partner to any number of media companies. While Yahoo! is currently overshadowed by Google's success, it still has a strong collection of assets and a huge audience. One investment banker says Yahoo! and GE's NBC unit would make a particulary good combination. NBC needs more information-based services that lend themselves to the Web, the banker says. With the exception of the CNN and CNBC news operations, NBC is focused almost entirely on entertainment. While entertainment has value in a world of broadband video, people still use the Web primarily to communicate and find and share information.

NBC needs information-based brands that lend themselves to the Internet. Privatley held Discovery, which has backing from John Malone, Cox and Advance, used its focus on science, history and the "real world" to develop a strong Web sites. NBC doesn't have the same sort of information-focused channels that lend themselves to search and research.

Could Yahoo!, which is a hub for all sorts of communication and information tools, help NBC broaden its presence on the Web? Perhaps. And maybe NBC could add a little Hollywood glitz to Yahoo's homepage.