Ground was broken with much hoopla last fall for CNBC's new 300,000-sf (expandable to 500,000 sf) state-of-the-art headquarters and broadcast facility here, and the cable news network was supposed to move into the first phase by the end of next year. Earlier this year, when across-the-board staff cutbacks were announced for the NBC broadcast empire, network officials were asked by Real Estate New Jersey, GlobeSt.com's sister publication, whether those cutbacks would impact the project. "The cutbacks are part of our normal course of business. The new facility will not be affected," an NBC spokesman said at the time.

Less than two weeks ago, CNBC hosted a spectacular topping out party for the facility, just over six months from the time ground was broken. Now, however, the project will apparently be slow-tracked, because an internal CNBC memo, signed off on by CNBC chairman/CEO Bill Bolster, president/COO Pam Thomas-Graham and NBC Cable CEO Dave Zaslav, has informed CNBC employees that they won't be in the building before the end of 2003 at the earliest. CNBC's 500 employees are currently housed in a 100,000-sf office complex in nearby Fort Lee.

"A number of complexities that have arisen creatively, technically and financially" were blamed for the delay by the memo. "It is no news that we are in the midst of a difficult economic cycle. By pushing our move-in date back a year, we will be able to reduce some expenses toward this... endeavor and... reduce expenses throughout the company."

While at least one CNBC official has been quoted in the local press as tying the delay specifically to technical difficulties, insiders are saying it is in fact the economy and NBC's own troubles. The fact that NBC is in the process of axing between 300 and 600, and perhaps as many as 1,000 of its 6,000 employees lends credence to that assertion.

The news is also giving new life to rumors that General Electric wants to unload NBC and get out of the broadcast business. Officials at parent GE and its broadcast divisions NBC, CNBC and MSNBC all continue to deny that any sale, in whole or in part, is in the offing, but recent management reshuffling on the programming side hasn't made that argument any easier to digest. Officials of the various divisions were unavailable for further comment.