NBCUniversal Shake-Up: How Will Donna Langley Promotion & Susan Rovner Exit Impact Studio’s Television Business
06.07.2023 - 22:53
/ deadline.com
David Zaslav should be sending a fruit basket right about now to Comcast President Mike Cavanagh.
Hollywood’s gaze has moved from Warner Bros. Discovery to NBCUniversal, which has just undergone its latest restructure under the new Comcast President, a move that saw film chief Donna Langley expand her empire into television and the departure of Susan Rovner.
What do the changes mean for NBCU’s television business under Langley, is the company destined for another shake-up on the television side and was Rovner, who oversaw series such as NBC’s Night Court, one of the biggest new broadcast comedies in the last few years, and Peacock’s critically acclaimed Poker Face, a success?
During a keynote at the SXSW festival in March, Rovner told a story about how former CEO Jeff Shell – who exited after a sexual harassment investigation – told her that when someone walks into one of its theme parks, it’s a “little more dangerous” and less family-friendly than Disney.
It certainly turned out that way for Rovner.
Langley becomes Chairman, NBCUniversal Studio Group & Chief Content Officer, and will oversee both film and television, a shift in the dynamic in the town, which has largely seen studios spread oversight of the big and small screens.
Rovner, who was Chairman, Entertainment Content for NBCUniversal’s Television and Streaming division, and her counterpart Frances Berwick, who was Chairman, Entertainment Networks for NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, both reported to Mark Lazarus, who was Chairman, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming and has now been promoted to Chairman, NBCUniversal Entertainment.
Berwick, who is now Chairman, NBCUniversal Entertainment, will now report to both Lazarus and Langley, returning the