Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- NBC Universal will announce job cuts and a restructuring at its television network today to help reduce expenses as the unit struggles to rise from third place, people familiar with the decisions said.

NBC Universal is likely to eliminate 700 jobs and order a reorganization that will save $750 million, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing an interview with NBC Universal Chairman Bob Wright. The unit of General Electric Co. is slashing its news budget and abandoning high-cost dramas to reduce costs, the Journal reported.

The reorganization is designed to return NBC to double-digit growth in 2007, Wright told the Journal. The decision underscores the pressure television networks are under to reduce expenses as rival media such as the Internet and cable television lure advertisers. A decline in NBC's ratings to last place in 2005 cost the company $800 million in advertising.

NBC Universal Television Chief Executive Officer Jeff Zucker has called a meeting with employees in New York as part of an effort to explain his plans, said two people familiar with the decisions. Neither of them would discuss the size of any planned layoffs. Operations for the cable-news channel MSNBC in Secaucus, New Jersey will be closed down and moved to Rockefeller Center in Manhattan and another facility in New Jersey, the Journal said.

Most of the job reductions will come in the company's 11 news divisions and will include presenters, the Journal said.

Third Place

Profit at NBC Universal fell 10 percent in the third quarter, dragged down by lower ratings at the NBC television network, General Electric said last week. The division, which also includes Universal Pictures film studio and theme parks, will contribute to profit growth this quarter and in 2007, General Electric Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt said.

As viewers decline, sapping advertising dollars, networks are increasingly turning to the Internet themselves. NBC signed deals with video-clip Web site YouTube to show its programming and started an online market for videos with partners including Access Hollywood and Forbes.com.

Shares of Fairfield, Connecticut-based General Electric, the world's second-largest company by market value, were unchanged at $35.56 yesterday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They have gained 1.5 percent this year.

NBC Universal spokeswoman Rebecca Marks didn't return calls seeking comment.

NBC has consistently held third place in the current television season, trailing CBS and ABC for the season and on most week nights during prime time. Last week, CBS finished first with an average of 13.4 million viewers, compared with 11.5 million for ABC and 10.3 million for NBC, according to Nielsen Media Research. News Corp.'s Fox has been broadcasting baseball playoffs.

No Top 10s

For the season, NBC has no shows among the 10 most-watched. Among its new shows, only one, ``Heroes'' on Monday night, has attracted more than 10 million viewers.

One bright spot for the network has been ``NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams,'' which has held a consistent lead over ``World News with Charles Gibson'' on ABC and ``CBS Evening News With Katie Couric.''

NBC Universal is based in Universal City, California. General Electric owns 80 percent of NBC Universal. France's Vivendi SA owns the rest. ABC is owned by Burbank, California- based Walt Disney Co., the second-largest U.S. media company. CBS is part of Sumner Redstone's CBS Corp.

Reality Shows

Zucker told the Journal that the network will stop scheduling expensive dramas and comedies during the 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. slot and will concentrate on lower-cost programming such as reality or game shows. Advertising interest isn't high enough to justify spending on scripted shows, Zucker told the Journal.

As an example, the network may play the ``Deal or No Deal'' game show instead of a drama such as ``Friday Night Lights.''

``Deal or No Deal'' costs about $1.1 million an episode, compared with the $2.6 million it takes to make ``Friday Night Lights,'' the Journal reported.

The company will also create a ``regional hub'' in Los Angeles to serve NBC, MSNBC, CNBC and three local stations in the area, Zucker told the Journal. That structure may be echoed in Washington and London.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Janofsky in Los Angeles at mjanofsky@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 19, 2006 08:01 EDT