Moving comedian Jay Leno to prime time is the single biggest priority for NBC Universal, its chief executive said on Wednesday as he signalled that this would be the first of several changes to the network’s relationship with its affiliates.

Jeff Zucker, whose GE-controlled global media empire spans cable channels such as CNBC, theme parks and the film studio behind State of Play, told 155 local station representatives gathered in New York that neither side could “keep [its] feet planted in the cement blocks of the past”.