NBC - WILL SILVERMAN'S DEPARTURE SUCCOR NBC?

WILL SILVERMAN'S DEPARTURE SUCCOR NBC?

NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker's decision finally to remove Ben Silverman from running NBC was greeted with shouts of "What took you so long?" from several bloggers and newspaper TV columnists. But Zucker continued to defend his decision to hire Silverman two years ago. "Ben wasn't a traditional choice," he told today's (Tuesday) Los Angeles Times . "But he brought us a lot of new ways of thinking about the business. ... Although that wasn't readily apparent, it was very helpful to us." But some critics argued that Silverman's "new ways of thinking" brought the fabled television network to a virtual collapse, with Jeff Gaspin, who has successfully guided the company's cable networks, being called upon to perform rescue operations. Without offering specific plans for a change in course, Gaspin told the Times "None of us are happy with the position that NBC is in. ... During the next few months I will spend a lot of time and put a lot of energy into getting NBC ready for the fall launches so we can make it shine once again." Some local NBC station executives suggested that Gaspin had nowhere else to go than up. "Hopefully someone else with a more creative approach and a new set of eyes can create two or three breakout hits for us," KSHB Kansas City General Manager Craig Allison told Broadcasting & Cable.

28/07/2009