Jeff Zucker says TV stations are "NBC's greatest asset."

But the NBCU CEO adds, "We know from our own stations that whatever we do nationally affects us locally. But we know if we don't do all we can to make our newscasts and programs available in new ways, then we will [all suffer.]"

The key, Zucker says, "is to find ways for stations and affiliates and the network to exploit these new opportunities together."

Those remarks came when he embellished upon the thoughts he had just expressed in his NAPTE keynote speech.

"It's important for our stations to remember that we face new competition in all of our markets,” he adds. “We're also facing new competitors who are creating new businesses in their garages and we ignore them at our peril."