Oct. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Comcast Corp. is leaning toward keeping NBC Universal chief Jeffrey Zucker and his team if it gains control of the General Electric Co. entertainment unit, according to three people with knowledge of the situation.

GE and Comcast, the largest U.S. cable-television service, are in talks to form a company that would own New York-based NBC Universal, people with knowledge of the situation said Oct. 1. Comcast would hold more than 50 percent of the venture, which would include assets from both companies.

Zucker, 44, who succeeded Bob Wright as NBC’s president and chief executive officer in 2007, pared jobs and consolidated some operations to reduce costs as advertising sales declined. He expanded NBC’s holdings with purchases such as the Weather Channel by partnering with private-equity firms. NBC also owns the USA and Bravo cable channels, as well as broadcast operations and the Universal film studio.

Allison Gollust, an NBC spokeswoman, said in an e-mail that the company declined to comment, as did Comcast, according to John Demming, a spokesman for the cable provider.

Any transaction depends on whether France’s Vivendi SA, which currently owns 20 percent of NBC Universal, decides to divest its stake, the people said Oct. 1.

Vivendi, the Paris-based owner of Universal Music Group, obtained the stake with the sale of its media assets to GE in 2004. Every year between Nov. 15 and Dec. 10, Vivendi may notify GE of its intent to sell the shares in the market, which could lead to a public offering, according to Vivendi’s annual report. That option extends through 2016. GE can preempt an IPO by buying the holding.

Vivendi’s board may decide to sell at an Oct. 14 board meeting, a person with knowledge of the situation said Sept. 22.

Zucker has spent his entire career at NBC Universal, starting with the Olympics division in 1986, according to his biography on NBC Universal’s Web site. He was appointed executive producer of the “Today” show in 1992 at age 26, the youngest to hold that position.

GE, based in Fairfield, Connecticut, fell 4 cents to $16.18 today in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares are little changed this year. Comcast, located in Philadelphia, fell 10 cents to $15.55 on the Nasdaq Stock Market and has declined 7.9 percent in 2009.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kelly Riddell in Washington at kriddell1@bloomberg.net; Rachel Layne in Boston at rlayne@bloomberg.net;

Last Updated: October 9, 2009 19:33 EDT