NBCUniversal

NBCUniversal has found its permanent lifestyle and documentary chief. Rachel Smith has been promoted to EVP, Unscripted Content, Lifestyle & Documentaries. She replaces Rod Aissa, who left in June.

Included are 11 NBC local news channels, six regional and national Telemundo channels and NBC entertainment channels American Crimes and NBC LX Home.

CBS Studios and NBCUniversal’s Universal Studio Group have suspended a new round of overall deals due to the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike.

Access Hollywood executive producer Maureen Fitzpatrick will be leaving the show after four years, according to sources. Fitzpatrick began helming the NBC entertainment newsmagazine franchise in 2019, taking over running both the taped show and Access Live as longtime EP Rob Silverstein exited after 20 years in the position. Fitzpatrick’s departure follows the exit of production executive Justin Batey, who served as senior executive in charge of production. (Image: NBCU)

Mark Marshall has been named chairman of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal after filling in on an interim basis. Marshall has been acting as interim chairman since May, when Linda Yaccarino departed the company to serve as CEO of Twitter. He stepped in to lead the team through its upfront, a day after Yaccarino’s departure, which NBCUniversal said resulted in cash commitments roughly in line with last year’s upfront, which was the company’s highest grossing to date, in the midst of a tough advertising environment.

Porn, sexual violence, booze and more alleged as potential suit looms.

NBCUniversal said it has completed its upfront sales, saying the dollar volume of ad commitments were “roughly in line” with last year’s upfront, which was in the $7 billion range across broadcast, cable and digital. With falling ratings, a strike by writers and actors and economic jitters, this year’s upfront has been a buyers’ market, with prices dropping for traditional commercials especially in primetime. The main exception is sports where demand remained relatively strong. Pictured: NBCU interim sales chief Mark Marshall at NBCU’s upfront presentation in May.

Universal film chief Donna Langley (left) is set to take control of content and creative ops across NBCUniversal’s portfolio of brands, as TV chief Susan Rovner (right) exits the company. The shakeup in leadership is the first major restructuring move made by Mike Cavanagh since he took over ousted Jeff Shell’s position atop the Comcast-owned media company.

NBCUniversal has inked agreements with Amazon Freevee and Xumo Play for the entire FAST content portfolio. Xumo Enterprise, the business-to-business arm of Xumo that provides content owners, distributors and advertisers with tools and services to succeed in FAST, will power the distribution of NBCUniversal’s new FAST channels on third party services starting with Amazon Freevee.

They say the collaboration will make data-driven TV advertising possible and drive enhanced advertising outcomes for agencies and brands.

Group Black will exclusively work with NBCUniversal to scale and sell ads within Black-led content including Black-led comedies, cinema and dramas.

In partnership with FreeWheel, globally minded marketers now have access to global-to-local content from more than 190 countries spanning Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas.

Rod Aissa is leaving NBCUniversal after 11 years, most recently as EVP, entertainment unscripted content, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. He informed his staff of his departure in a memo Friday. In the interim, Rachel Smith will take over Aissa’s role of leading the unscripted lifestyle and docuseries group, working alongside Corie Henson, EVP, entertainment unscripted content, who oversees competition and game shows.

NBCUniversal, Roku, TikTok and TalkShopLive on Thursday shared campaigns and results from partnerships built based on the big-box retailer’s partner program. Walmart Connect Partner Lab partnered with NBCUniversal to test a closed-loop media-powered ads for retail in live sports streaming. This will mark the first time that NBCUniversal’s live sports streaming inventory becomes available through a retail media network.

Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles is changing its name to Peacock Theater, and the open-air plaza next to it will be known as Peacock Place. The changes take effect July 11 as part of a multi-year naming rights deal between Peacock, NBCUniversal’s premium streaming service, and sports and live entertainment giant AEG.

The arrangement integrates Wells Fargo Credit Cards into NBCUniversal’s One Platform Commerce, providing exclusive benefits for Wells Fargo credit cardholders and shoppable content across Bravo’s Project Runway, Today’s “Jill’s Steals and Deals” and “Shark Tank” on CNBC.

NBCU is beginning a multi-platform marketing push, using the “Save the Date” theme, to get consumers amped up for the Olympics, which will kick off July 26 of next year. And to help it do so, the company is turning to some old friends including Dolly Parton, WWE star Roman Reigns and a minion.

At $1.66 a month, the discount is $30 off the annual $50 price for the base Peacock Premium package.

Mike Cavanagh, a veteran of the financial crisis, has just been given a leading part in the unending drama of Hollywood.

NBCUniversal shook up its ad-sales executive suite with just days to go before the company is slated to present its next slate of programing to advertisers. Linda Yaccarino, the company’s longtime chairman of advertising and partnerships, is leaving the company. She has entered talks to become CEO of Twitter, according to a person familiar with the matter. Mark Marshall, a veteran executive who leads advertising sales for all of NBCU’s national media properties, has been named interim chairman of ad sales for the company. He will report to Mark Lazarus who oversees NBCU’s TV and streaming businesses.

NBCUniversal’s global ad chair Linda Yaccarino has resigned, the company said Friday. The announcement comes a day after Elon Musk said via Twitter there would be a new CEO of the social media website, although he didn’t name the new person. Musk said in his tweet the person would start in about six weeks. Yaccarino yesterday was said to be in advanced talks for the role. (JohnStaleyPhoto.com)

NBC and Telemundo local FAST channels are now available on Amazon Fire TV and Echo Show devices.

“Precise measurement and accurate counting are the foundation of a healthy and high-functioning TV advertising ecosystem. When marketers have the right data, they can make the right decisions. That’s why we’re unifying our audiences and ushering in a modern-day approach to measurement for local advertisers. To better reflect today’s sophisticated consumer, we are vastly increasing the number of households we measure: We used to measure 1 in every 1,600-2,000 homes in a Local DMA. Now we’re going to measure 1 in every 2-5 homes—giving advertisers an unprecedented understanding of the true size and value of their audience, while also allowing them to pinpoint the exact audience they want to reach. And there’s more: With 48-hour TV measurement reporting at this scale, we’ll be able to help our clients optimize and improve the precision of their media buys in near real time.”

Ad sales president Mark Marshall (pictured) touts scale and precision.

Staffers at NBCUniversal Local’s experimental unit LX News got word Wednesday that they’d be shutting down. Some worry that it bodes darkly for news innovation that will connect with new generations of viewers.

NBCUniversal is winding down LX, a three-year-old network with the stated mission of delivering viewers “the stories you need with more sass and less suits.” People familiar with the decision said the nearly 40 workers affected by the move are being actively considered for new positions within NBCU.

The new agreement, NBCU says, “demonstrates the value of big media and big tech aligning to super-serve audiences the content they love and want, while providing incremental reach and scale for advertisers.”

At Peacock’s NewFront presentation Tuesday, NBCUniversal rolled out new commercial formats aimed at giving sponsors more attention and a better opportunity to interact with viewers. One of the new formats enables an advertiser to be everywhere NBCU’s. Called Spotlight Plus, the advertiser’s message shows up no matter what a viewer is watching, like a cross-platform roadblock, whether it’s an original film on Peacock, a drama on a linear network or a content on a third-party digital platform.