CMCSA Comcast Corporation

By Joe Flint

NBCUniversal Chief Executive Jeff Shell said he has tested positive for the Covid-19 virus and is recovering at home.

In a Thursday memo to NBCUniversal staff, Mr. Shell wrote, "although the virus has been tough to cope with, I have managed to work remotely in LA and am improving every day."

Mr. Shell, who succeeded Steve Burke as chief executive of the Comcast Corp. unit earlier this year, is the most senior media executive known to have tested positive for the coronavirus.

NBC News last week lost a longtime staffer to the virus. Audio technician Larry Edgeworth died from complications related to the coronavirus last Friday, the network said.

Like other media companies, Comcast Corp. and NBCUniversal have been hit hard by the virus. NBC and its cable channels are the television home for the Olympics in the U.S. and the summer games have been postponed from this July to next year.

With movie theaters closed, NBCU's Universal Pictures' has had to delay the latest installment of its "Fast and Furious" franchise to next year. Another movie, the animated film "Trolls World Tour" will be released directly to video-on-demand starting April 10, bypassing a theatrical run.

NBCU also closed its theme parks and shut down its TV and movie productions.

In his memo, Mr. Shell said, "we recognize that a sudden halt to production creates a significant financial hardship for many. To that end, we have committed over $150 million across our film, television and parks businesses to help our employees and other workers, and to at least partially bridge the period before normal operations can restart."

Write to Joe Flint at Joe.Flint@WSJ.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 26, 2020 12:25 ET (16:25 GMT)

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