NEW YORK — Comcast Chief Operating Officer Steve Burke will succeed Jeff Zucker as the new CEO of NBC Universal later this year, when Comcast takes control of the broadcaster.

Comcast and General Electric, which currently owns NBC, said Sunday that Burke will work with Zucker during the transition. Zucker, who has spent his entire career at NBC, said last week that he would be stepping down after the change in control.

The possibility of a change-in-command had been looming since last December, when Comcast agreed to buy a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal from Fairfield, Conn.-based GE. That deal, worth $13.75 billion, still hasn't cleared regulatory hurdles, but is expected to be completed around the end of the year.