Olbermann, Matthews to CNBC?

NBC's efforts to reestablish itself have gone poorly, and its cable network MSNBC is still stuck in last place. Execs are considering putting MSNBC's two biggest stars, Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews, on business channel CNBC, and using the rest of MSNBC for taped programming about "murder mysteries" and similar tabloid material. From Broadcasting and Cable:

NBC Universal employees are bracing for the worst as Chairman-CEO Bob Wright and NBC U TV Group CEO Jeff Zucker are convening town hall meetings in Los Angeles and New York for what is expected to be news of restructuring and job cuts.

Sources say Wright will appear on the Universal Studios lot near Burbank on Thursday while Zucker holds a similar meeting with East Coast employee in New York. NBC press reps were not available at press time.

The sessions follow weeks of smaller job cuts at NBC's syndication unit, for example, and rumors of much wider layoffs and other belt-tightening measures. While the expensive acquisition of NFL football games on Sunday night is driving NBC's average primetime ratings up this season, the network is suffering crucial misfires....

On the cable side, NBC U has been considering drastic measures, including scrapping all of MSNBC's live programming and switching to a taped, magazine-like format, while switching successful personalities Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann over to sibling CNBC's primetime slate.