Jeff Zucker Eager To Get NBC Out of the Basement

This recession is over - at least as far as Jeff Zucker is concerned.

Speaking at the D: All Things D conference yesterday, the NBC Universal CEO television advertising has “bottomed out” and that he expects an uptick in sales for the network.

“This upfront will be brighter than people had expected,” Zucker said in San Diego. “We have bottomed out.”

While that may be good for the industry as a whole, NBC still ranks last among the four networks when it comes to ratings.

“We haven’t done a good job of creating programs that people want to watch,” Zucker said. We want to be in first place because it’s an important message to send. We’d like to be the most- watched TV network. We don’t have to be, but we don’t want to be in last place either.”

With new shows like ‘Parenthood’ and ‘Trauma’ as well as the returing ‘30 Rock’ and ‘The Office,’ NBC is giving it all it’s got to get off the canvas.

Hey, and let’s not forget about the upcoming ‘The Jay Leno Show’ - which is, without a doubt, the biggest gamble of the season.

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