THE DEPARTURE - SILVERMAN BEING SHOWN THE DOOR AT NBC?

SILVERMAN BEING SHOWN THE DOOR AT NBC?

NBC's primetime schedule for the fall is regarded as an "unmitigated disaster" and is likely to result in the departure of NBC Co-chairman Ben Silverman and his top programming executive, Teri Weinberg, L.A. Weekly columnist Nikki Finke reported on her online Dateline Hollywood Daily, citing unnamed network insiders. Finke reported that Silverman has withdrawn from day-to-day decision-making at the network after delegating to Weinberg, his former Reveille Entertainment assistant, responsibilities that she was too inexperienced to handle. Moreover, Finke disclosed, following an in-house conflict-of-interest scandal in which Weinberg was said to have greenlit projects developed by her boyfriend, NBC has cut off its relationship with the boyfriend's company, paying off him and another writer/producer connected with the shows "to the tune of millions of dollars" and letting them shop their programs to other networks. The well-sourced Finke added, "I'm told that NBC is hoping that Silverman jumps before he is pushed. And several sources have information to believe ... he may start negotiating his out with an eye to exiting before December."

01/09/2008