The planned layoffs in Susan Rovner’s entertainment content division have begun. Sources say 50 employees were laid off Tuesday from Rovner’s newly consolidated team. The merged programming team was hit hardest by Tuesday’s layoffs. Other divisions, including planning and acquisitions, were also impacted.
The moves come after senior scripting, unscripted, and late-night Rovner executives solidified their respective teams. Cara Dellaverson and Alex Sepiol (who directed the drama for Peacock under former originals chief Bill McGoldrick) will co-direct the drama and current development under the direction of Lisa Katz. Jeff Meyerson will oversee the flow and development of the comedy, with Michael Sluchan overseeing children’s programming and co-productions, both of which also report to Katz. Jenny Groom’s unscripted competition / game show unit will include Sharon Vuong overseeing development and Shelby Shaftel, mainstream. Rod Aissa’s lifestyle and docuseries group will see Rachel Smith leading development and Shari Levine overseeing the flow.
The majority of those affected on Tuesday were from jobs that were cut when NBCUniversal merged the business and content teams of a network-by-network group into one unified group. This means that executives who previously oversaw scripts for NBC also cover Peacock and all of the company’s cable brands.
Tuesday’s layoffs reflect similar staff cuts in November as part of Frances Berwick’s sales division. The two rounds of layoffs are a direct result of NBCU’s decision to consolidate its entertainment content and business divisions under Rovner and Berwick, respectively. The massive reorganization of NBCUniversal’s TV and Streaming division, overseen by NBCUni CEO Jeff Shell and Stream and TV President Mark Lazarus, consolidated the TV and streaming space staff into two units supervised by Berwick and Rovner. Berwick oversees the entertainment business strategy, which encompasses marketing, research, acquisitions, finance and advertising. Rovner is responsible for all entertainment content, including scripted, unscripted, live, late night and syndication events.
The Berwick and Rovner teams each oversee responsibilities for a consolidated portfolio, which means that an executive working on reality programming at E !, for example, will now do it for NBC, streamer Peacock, Bravo, Oxygen, Syfy. and USA Network.
Berwick, the former head of Lifestyle Networks, was promoted on August 6 as part of a major restructuring at NBCU. She announced her management team on September 16, with the November layoffs affecting layoffs in areas of her competence including marketing, public relations, etc. Sources note that vacancies will not be filled, which has helped reduce the bloodshed.
Rovner, meanwhile, started at NBCUni in October. She has since met with executives from her portfolio. She unveiled her leadership team in November, choosing to promote within the company as she built a team to oversee scripted, unscripted and other programming areas for Peacock, NBC, USA, Syfy, Bravo, Oxygen. , E! and Universal Kids.
Tuesday’s layoffs were triggered after division heads under Rovner had already solidified their respective teams. The cutbacks targeted redundancies between merged departments that were eliminated in favor of centralized content teams.
NBCUniversal has seen a number of high profile executives leave as a result of last year’s reorganization. NBC Entertainment chairman Paul Telegdy and his unscripted top executive, Meredith Ahr, were both kicked out after an investigation into the company found they fostered a toxic culture, which allegations have made. first detailed by The Hollywood Reporter.
Beloved President of the United States and Syfy, Chris McCumber, stepped down in September following the restructuring that eliminated the need for individual network leaders. Respected Peacock, USA and Syfy head of programming Bill McGoldrick left this week after being ignored for the role that was ultimately given to Rovner. Len Fogge, longtime NBC chief marketing officer, also left the company after more than a decade in the business after her role was absorbed by Jennifer Storms, CMO of NBC Sports Group.
The layoffs under Berwick’s team are the latest in a wave of NBCU cuts. The company’s theme parks unit, sports division and Telemundo were laid off earlier this year due to the company’s economic downturn caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic, which has caused huge revenue losses in the entertainment industry, has prompted most major conglomerates to restructure. NBCUniversal, Disney, and WarnerMedia have all reshaped their executive ranks with the goal of both better positioning themselves for the streaming age and reducing costs by consolidating resources and eliminating staff redundancies. The three media titans have seen several rounds of layoffs, and more are underway as Disney only recently began its reorganization.
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