NBCUniversal took a blatant dig at Elon Musk’s Twitter on Monday – just days after the social media company poached NBCU’s longtime ad sales chief Linda Yaccarino to serve as its next CEO.
The lighthearted jab occurred during the intro of NBCU’s upfront presentation to key advertisers.
The event kicked off with a musical skit featuring Seth MacFarlane’s raunchy cartoon bear “Ted,” who is set to appear in a series for NBC’s streaming service Peacock.
“TV is the true way. Who needs all those Instagram ads? Twitter may seem like the place to begin, but Twitter just let all the crazies back in,” Ted quipped during the segment, according to Axios media reporter Kerry Flynn.
The line “drew huge laughs in the room for the coincidental fact that NBCU’s Linda Yaccarino has just exited the company to become CEO of the social media platform.,” according to Variety.
The Post has reached out to NBCU representatives for comment.
Musk confirmed last Friday that he had hired Yaccarino to replace him as Twitter’s next CEO.
The abrupt announcement appeared to come as a surprise to NBCU – with a spokesperson declaring just one day earlier that Yaccarino was in “back to back rehearsals for Monday’s upfront.” Yaccarino had spent more than a decade in various roles at NBCU.
As Twitter CEO, Yaccarino will be tasked with rebuilding Twitter’s relationships with major corporate advertisers – many of which fled the platform due to concerns about Musk’s overhaul of account verification and light approach to content moderation.
Critics slammed Musk for his decision to reverse permanent bans on many accounts, including one belonging for former President Donald Trump.
“I’ve long been inspired by your vision to create a brighter future. I’m excited to help bring this vision to Twitter and transform this business together!” Yaccarino tweeted on Saturday.
Mark Lazarus, NBCU’s chair of television and streaming, later took the stage and thanked Yaccarino for her achievements at the company.
“In all seriousness, Linda and I worked together for many, many years here at NBC,” Lazarus said.
Lazarus praised Yaccarino “for her many contributions and for building an excellent team here.”
“We want to thank her and wish her well,” he added.
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