NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell leaving company over affair with employee

NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell stepped down Sunday after admitting to an “inappropriate relationship” with an employee.

“Today is my last day as CEO of NBCUniversal,” he said in a statement. “I had an inappropriate relationship with a woman in the company, which I deeply regret.”

Neither Shell nor Comcast, which owns NBCUniversal, went into further detail.

The woman, who has not been publicly identified, filed a workplace complaint, sources told CNBC. Comcast hired an outside legal team to investigate the complaint, and that team’s investigation led to Shell’s departure.

“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 19 years has been a privilege,” the outgoing exec said.

Shell, who is married, took over as head of NBCUniversal in January 2020, just a few weeks before COVID upended the world and much of NBCUniversal’s business with it.

During his time in charge, the company leaned heavily into its streaming service, Peacock. Though Shell’s predecessor, Steve Burke, was in charge for Peacock’s early days, the service expanded greatly under Shell’s leadership.

Also during Shell’s tenure, his chief deputy Ron Meyer was ousted after he admitted to a decades-old affair with a woman. Meyer’s mistress did not work for NBCUniversal and he claimed to be the victim of an extortion attempt.

Shell is now the second media big-wig in the past two years to step down over a relationship with an employee. Ex-CNN boss Jeff Zucker departed that job in February 2022.