NBCUniversal’s long-awaited move to spin off most of its cable assets and reorganize the studio’s top leadership inspired plenty of questions about the media conglomerate’s future – and, for many in the industry, a case of Donna Langley déjà vu.
The veteran film executive who had been chief content officer across all of NBCUniversal has yet again expanded her role at the company, this time to Chairman of NBCUniversal Entertainment and Studios. The promotion gives her sole greenlight power over content and marketing spending across film, TV and streaming. Comcast veteran Matt Strauss was named chair of NBCUniversal’s media group, overseeing ad sales, distribution and affiliate relations.
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“This is a coronation for Donna,” said one elite dealmaker who works with actors and directors. “Well, another one.”
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The agent isn’t wrong, nor are numerous Hollywood players that Variety spoke with who wondered what the difference is between her new role and the Chief Content Officer role she took on 16 months ago. It was then, in July 2023, Langley was given reign over all creative endeavors at the company. But at an organization as byzantine as NBCU, there’s palace intrigue behind every peacock feather. This time around, the big chess piece that slides onto Langley’s side of the board is Bravo.
For the past year and a half, tensions flared up within the groups led by Langley and the former NBCU media group chairman Mark Lazarus, an executive who will now serve as CEO of the cable spinoff company (that will boast assets including USA Network, CNBC, Syfy, MSNBC and E!).
While Langley had dominion over all production operations, Lazarus kept oversight of NBC programming and NBCU’s most valuable cable asset in the streaming era: Bravo, thanks to its sticky brand of unscripted hits including the “The Real Housewives,” “Top Chef” and “Below Deck” franchises. Those shows perform well via streaming on Peacock with millennials and Gen Z, which is why Bravo is the only linear cable channel that will remain with the mothership. The split between Lazarus and Langley caused confusion to sellers and their deal brokers from the outset, sources said.
“Why do I need two yeses if Donna is the one in charge?” another top agent wondered aloud earlier this summer. The uncomfortable scenario also created some headaches for Francis Berwick, who had been chairman of NBCUniversal Entertainment overseeing the content and strategy for NBC and the cable channels. She had technically reported to two bosses as she helped NBC schedule its “Chicago” dramas and Bravo serve up its “Housewives” tea – and even stronger stuff at the popular Bravocon in-person fan conventions that have become a lucrative venture for NBCU of late.
Langley played a yearslong waiting game to arrive at her position of power – a rare seat of autonomy for a woman at the studio level – and earned her oats by producing blockbuster film franchises and luring star talent including the top filmmaker of his generation, Christopher Nolan, who is sticking around to make his next movie after bringing Universal a best picture Oscar and a nearly $1 billion in global box office haul for 2023’s “Oppenheimer.” She’s also held in the highest regard by the directors and producers she shepherds from development to the screen and, increasingly, to streaming “bridge content” based on IP like “Jurassic World” and “Fast and Furious.”
Keeping Langley has lead to some contraction in the C-suite. Also in July 2023, Comcast president Michael Cavanagh (who has been NBCU’s de facto CEO since Jeff Shell’s exit in April 2023) dismissed his then-TV and streaming head Susan Rovner. Changes like that would theoretically give Langley a wider berth to execute her vision – but Lazarus was not so easily shaken off, three insiders close to NBCU parent company Comcast told Variety. Particularly after he helped deliver what Comcast brass considered a sterling Paris Olympic games this summer, an event synergized across all NBCU properties with the subtlety of a firehose. But by September, insiders said, the winds changed. Rumors of Lazarus getting siloed into ad sales, sports and operations kicked up. An NBCU insider said no such changes were considered until last month, when Lazarus was offered the gig running the spinoff company. The insider also downplayed any personal conflict between Langley and Lazarus, though they conceded the previous structure needed more “clarity.”
With Strauss, Langley gets a partner she can implement new processes with while managing her own balance sheets, added another high-ranking insider familiar with the company. Strauss is considered a trusted star by the Philadelphia set, said another source, having earned the trust of Comcast CEO Brian Roberts over the years through his labors on the Comcast side of the house that cable built. But when it comes to creative, the lifeblood of NBCU, Langley will run the show.
While this latest “coronation” firmly installs Langley at the top of the pyramid, don’t expect the NBCU intrigue to slow down. Lazarus’ new spun off entity will have free reign to come after existing NBCU talent, and NBCU may have to dig deep to keep core players attached to what is inarguably a smaller media empire after Wednesday. There will also likely be casualties in the form of redundancies across both companies.
This symphony (also the name of NBCU’s beloved vertical integration program) will need a lot more tuning.
