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Google Trends: NBCU 2.0's casualties

Every once in a while Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) comes along with a new feature that grabs the attention of bloggers. Today's is Google Trends -- which ranks search terms based on their growth in popularity during the day.

In case you missed it, according to lostremote, General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE)'s NBC Universal launched an initiative last October: NBCU 2.0 -- a cost-cutting program designed to eliminate 700 jobs and $750 million in expenses by the end of 2008.

Two of the top Google Trends -- Stone Phillips (#1) and John Seigenthaler (#14) -- account for two of the highest profile 700 job cuts. Phillips is a co-host of Dateline and although I never watch the show, I remember his neck as being particularly frightening. Phillips will not be replaced. Meanwhile, Seigenthaler, who left last month, used to host the NBC Nightly News on weekends -- Lester Holt replaced him.

I hope these cost cuts improve NBCU's profitability, but there's a danger that they'll lead to revenue declines that exceed the cost cuts. Meanwhile Google's advertising revenues -- up 63% -- are growing while NBCU's shrank 22% (due, among other things, to the absence of 2007 programming to take up the slack from the 2006 Olympics and its weak ratings).

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management consulting and venture capital firm. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He owns General Electric stock and has no financial interest in Google.

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Last updated: February 13, 2012: 06:50 PM

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