NAB Show Taps NBC’s Robert Greenblatt

NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt will participate in a keynote conversation with comedian Chris Hardwick at the NAB Show on Tuesday, April 25, in Las Vegas.

Fresh off of hosting NBC’s new game show The Wall and announcing the forthcoming NBC series The Awesome Show, Hardwick will lead Greenblatt in a discussion that NAB says “will provide insight into the mind of a network chief, focusing on success in a digital age.” The session, “Success in a Digital Age,” will delve into the art of 52-week programming; creating appointment viewing; on demand and mobile content distribution; viewing trends; and how television’s big new hit, This Is Us, was launched to record-breaking results.

“NBC has had an extraordinary run under Bob Greenblatt, illustrating the power of both creative leadership and broadcast television itself,” said NAB President-CEO Gordon Smith. “We look forward to hearing from Mr. Greenblatt as he shares his professional perspective on what makes television content shine in an increasingly competitive media landscape.”

Greenblatt has been chairman of NBC Entertainment since January 2011. Under his leadership, NBC regained its No. 1 status in the key 18-49 demographic after a decade in last place. NBC has won the last three 52-week broadcast seasons and is on track to win the 2016-17 season. The network has also won five consecutive November sweeps and six consecutive summers in adults 18-49.

In addition, Greenblatt has vastly grown the company’s studio operations, revitalizing Universal Television with hits including award-winning shows The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Master of None and The Mindy Project; as well as launching Universal Television Alternative in 2016, which has already produced network hits The Wall and Better Late Than Never, with the much-anticipated Jennifer Lopez project World of Dance premiering this summer.

Prior to joining NBC, Greenblatt served at the helm of Showtime, where he was responsible for some of the network’s biggest hits, including Weeds, Dexter and Shameless. At Fox earlier in his career, he helped deliver groundbreaking primetime programming from Beverly Hills, 90210 to The X-Files. Greenblatt also produced the Golden Globe Award-winning television show Six Feet Under, as well as the Tony Award-winning Broadway show A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.

Chris Hardwick is founder, CEO and creative head of Nerdist, a media enterprise under the Legendary Digital Network that encompasses the Nerdist.com website, YouTube channel, and a podcast network of 49 shows that includes Hardwick’s own successful Nerdist Podcast, which he continues to host weekly and garners over 5.5 million downloads per month.

In addition to his NBC projects, he also serves as host and executive producer of Comedy Central’s two-time Emmy Award-winning nightly comedy game show @midnight and host and executive producer of several AMC programs, including Talking Dead and the upcoming series Talking with Chris Hardwick.