Ahr’s exit comes a little over two months after the exit of NBC Entertainment head Paul Telegdy. Ahr was named president of the Alternative and Reality Group back in 2018. In that role, she oversaw all aspects of unscripted programming at the broadcast network, Universal Television Alternative Studio, and first-run syndication. She became president of Universal Television Alternative Studio in 2016 to launch and build the studio.
Current and former employees allege that NBC Entertainment Chairman Paul Telegdy engaged in racist, sexist and homophobic behavior: “It was par for the course.”
Katie Hockmeyer has been named executive vice president of late night programming at NBC Entertainment. She will report to NBC Entertainment co-chairmen George Cheeks and Paul Telegdy, where she will work on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers, Saturday Night Live and newly launched latenight addition, A Little Late with Lilly Singh. Hockmeyer will guide programming strategy and be the network liaison for all things latenight at NBC, according to the company.
It’s official: Bob Greenblatt’s tenure as NBC Entertainment has come to an end. NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke, in a memo to staff Monday morning, officially announced that George Cheeks and Paul Telegdy would take over for Greenblatt and serve as co-chairmen of NBC Entertainment.
Lisa Katz and Tracy Pakosta have been named co-presidents of scripted programming for NBC Entertainment. In their new roles, they will report to NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt.
Exclusives
Sources say a successor, to report to NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt, will be named by the end of next week.
Linda Giambrone, most recently of Endemol Shine, will oversee physical production at both the network and the studio as EVP of production at NBC Entertainment.
Meredith Ahr also extends her contract, serving as president of the new in-house initiative that will supply unscripted fare to NBC and other outlets.
DreamWorks public relations executive Allison Rawlings has joined NBC Entertainment as SVP of corporate communications.
Lesley Cerwin, the PR exec who leads the charge for NBC’s The Voice, has been promoted to senior VP of entertainment publicity at NBC Entertainment.
NBC’s Greenblatt: We Hope Jay Leno Stays
Discussions about the Leno-to-Fallon Tonight Show transition started more than two years ago, says Bob Greenblatt, but the Olympics were an irresistible catalyst to launch Fallon.
NBC Entertainment chief Robert Greenblatt has brought in Robert Hayes to run the network’s digital media group. Hayes will be responsible for several initiatives and properties, including NBC.com, social media campaigns, mobile applications, digital marketing and multi-platform programming. Vivi Zigler, who has been in charge of NBC’s digital presence for six years, is leaving the network at the end of June
NBC Entertainment chief Bob Greenblatt is looking to slim down his bloated marketing department as part of an overhaul of the struggling Peacock Network. In the coming weeks, NBC Entertainment is set to undergo a revamp that will result in scores of pink slips (roughly 2% of the staff) across marketing, promotions and publicity, sources close to the situation said.
Jennifer Salke was named president of NBC Entertainment Wednesday. Salke had previously been 20th Century Fox Television’s executive vice president of creative affairs, a position she had held since 2006.
