Comcast announced today that CEO Jeff Shell will leave the company, effective immediately. The “mutual” decision comes after an investigation led by outside counsel into a complaint on inappropriate conduct by Shell.
“Today is my last day as CEO of NBCUniversal. I had an inappropriate relationship with a woman in the company, which I deeply regret,” said Shell, who is married. “I’m truly sorry I let my Comcast and NBCUniversal colleagues down, they are the most talented people in the business and the opportunity to work with them the last 10 years has been a privilege.”
Comcast made the announcement in a short press release. There was no additional information about a successor.
Shell was the former president of Comcast Programming Group when he was promoted to CEO in 2019, replacing Steve Burke.
In January, Shell talked about how bullish he and fellow Comcast execs felt about the company’s investment in Peacock and how it would soon yield profits. The company said Peacock had passed 20 million subscribers by the end of 2022, more than double its size at the start of the year. It added 5 million subscribers in the quarter thanks to Spanish-language World Cup coverage as well as original programming, other live sports and the addition of first-window movie titles and NBC and Bravo series that used to go to Hulu.