NBC

==Presidents of NBC Entertainment==

<!-- The title is "President of NBC" and then "President of NBC Entertainment" when NBC diversifies. -->

{| class="wikitable"
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! Executive
! Term
! Position
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| [[Sylvester Weaver (executive)|Sylvester Weaver]] || 1953–1955 || Weaver was hired by NBC in 1949, to help challenge CBS's rating lead. While at NBC, Weaver established many operating practices that became standard for network television; he introduced the practice of networks producing their own television programs and selling advertising time during the broadcasts. Prior to this, advertising agencies usually developed each show for a particular client. Because commercial slots could now more easily be sold to more than one corporate sponsor for each program, a single advertiser pulling out of a program would not necessarily threaten it. 
Weaver also created several series for the network, ''Today'' (in 1952), ''[[Tonight Starring Steve Allen]]'' (in 1954, the first program in the ''Tonight Show'' franchise), ''Home'' (1954) and ''Wide Wide World'' (1955). 
Weaver strongly believed that broadcasting should educate as well as entertain, and required NBC shows to typically include at least one sophisticated cultural reference or performance per installment – including a segment of a Giuseppe Verdi opera adapted in the comedic style of [[Sid Caesar]] and [[Imogene Coca]]'s groundbreaking ''[[Your Show of Shows]]''. Weaver did not ignore NBC Radio and gave it a shot in the arm in 1955, at a time when network radio was dying and giving way to television, when he developed ''NBC Monitor'', a weekend-long magazine-style block featuring an array of news, music, comedy, drama and sports, with rotating advertisers and some of the most memorable names in broadcast journalism, entertainment and sports that ran until 1975 (20 years after Weaver's departure). Weaver departed shortly afterward, following disputes with NBC chairman David Sarnoff, who believed that his ideas were either too expensive or too [[highbrow]] for company tastes. His respective successors, Robert Sarnoff and Robert Kintner standardized the network's programming practices with far less of the ambitiousness that characterized the Weaver years.
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| [[Robert E. Kintner]] || 1958–1966 || Kintner was appointed president in 1958; his tenure at NBC was marked by his aggressive effort to push the network's news division past CBS News in ratings and prestige. The news division was given more money, leading it to gain additional resources to provide coverage, notably of the [[1960 United States presidential election|1960 Presidential election campaign]], and led the ''Huntley-Brinkley Report'' to prominence among the network news programs.
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| [[Julian Goodman]] || 1966–1974 || Goodman, who joined NBC in 1966, helped establish [[Chet Huntley]] and [[David Brinkley]] as a well-known anchor team. While working at NBC, he negotiated a $1&nbsp;million deal to retain Johnny Carson as host of ''The Tonight Show''.
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| [[Herbert Schlosser]] || 1974–1978 || After [[Johnny Carson]] announced he wanted to cancel the weekend editions of ''[[The Tonight Show]]'' in order to instead have repeats of it aired on weeknights,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20091002215728/http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/about/history.shtml SNL's Beginnings] from NBC</ref> Schlosser approached his vice president of late-night programming, [[Dick Ebersol]], and asked him to create a show to fill the Saturday nighttime slot. At the suggestion of [[Paramount Pictures]] executive [[Barry Diller]], Schlosser and Ebersol then approached [[Lorne Michaels]]. Over the next three weeks, Ebersol and Michaels developed the latter's idea for a variety show featuring high-concept comedy sketches, political satire, and music performances. 
By 1975 Michaels had assembled a talented cast, including [[Dan Aykroyd]], [[John Belushi]], [[Chevy Chase]], [[Jane Curtin]], [[Garrett Morris]], [[Laraine Newman]], [[Michael O'Donoghue]], [[Gilda Radner]], and [[George Coe]]. The show was originally called ''NBC's Saturday Night'' because ''Saturday Night Live'' was in use by [[Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell|a program on the rival network]] [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] that was hosted by its sportscaster [[Howard Cosell]]. NBC purchased the rights to the name in 1976 and officially adopted the new title on March 26, 1977. ''Saturday Night Live'' remains on the air to this day.
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| [[Fred Silverman]] || 1978–1981 || Although Silverman developed many successful shows during his tenure at ABC, he left that network to become president and CEO of NBC in 1978. His three-year tenure at the network proved to be a difficult period for the network, marked by several high-profile failures such as ''Hello, Larry'', ''Pink Lady and Jeff'', ''Supertrain'' and the [[Jean Doumanian]] era of ''Saturday Night Live'' (Silverman hired Doumanian after Al Franken, the planned successor for outgoing creator/executive producer Lorne Michaels, castigated Silverman's failures in a sketch on the program<ref name="shales">{{cite book|last=Shales|first=Tom|title=Live From New York: An Uncensored History Of Saturday Night Live|author2=James Andrew Miller|publisher=[[Back Bay Books]]|year=2003|isbn=0-316-73565-5|pages=191–193 |author-link=Tom Shales}}</ref>). Despite these failures, high points during Silverman's tenure included the launch of ''Hill Street Blues'' and the miniseries ''Shōgun''. He also brought David Letterman to the network to host daytime talker ''[[The David Letterman Show]]'', two years before the debut of Letterman's successful [[Late Night with David Letterman|late night program]] in 1982, after Silverman negotiated a holding deal after the former's cancellation to keep Letterman from going to another network. However, Silverman nearly lost late-night leader Johnny Carson, who filed a lawsuit against NBC during a contract dispute with the network; the case was settled out of court and Carson remained with NBC in exchange for acquiring the rights to his show and permission to reduce his time on-air (leading to the use of guest hosts on ''The Tonight Show'' such as [[Joan Rivers]] and his immediate successor, Jay Leno).<ref>{{cite news|date=April 20, 1981|title=Rent-a-Judge|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,952989,00.html|url-status=dead|access-date=August 7, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061130000737/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,952989,00.html|archive-date=November 30, 2006}}</ref> 
Silverman also developed successful sitcoms such as ''Diff'rent Strokes'', ''The Facts of Life'' and ''Gimme a Break!'', and made the series commitments that led to ''Cheers'' and ''St. Elsewhere''. Silverman also pioneered the reality television genre with the 1979 debut of ''Real People''. His contributions to the network's game show output included the [[Mark Goodson Productions|Goodson-Todman]]-produced ''[[Card Sharks]]'' and a revival of ''Password'', both of which enjoyed great success as part of the morning schedule, although he also canceled several other relatively popular series, including ''The Hollywood Squares'' and ''[[High Rollers]]'', to make way for ''The David Letterman Show'' (those cancellations also threatened ''Wheel of Fortune'', whose host, [[Chuck Woolery]], left in a payment dispute during Silverman's tenure, although the show survived). Silverman also oversaw, while simultaneously objecting to, the hiring of [[Pat Sajak]] as the new host of ''Wheel'' (Sajak remains as the host to this day in its syndicated incarnation).<ref>{{cite book|title=Merv: Making the Good Life Last|first=Merv|last=Griffin|author-link=Merv Griffin|publisher=Pocket Books|location=New York City|page=101|year=2003}}</ref> 

On Saturday mornings, at a time when there was much similarity in animated content on the major networks, Silverman oversaw the development of an [[The Smurfs (1981 TV series)|animated series]] based on [[The Smurfs]] (which ran from 1981 to 1989, well after Silverman's departure, making it one of his longest-lasting contributions to the network) as well as [[The Flintstone Comedy Show (1980)|a revival of ''The Flintstones'']]. In addition, Silverman revitalized the NBC News division, helping ''Today'' and ''NBC Nightly News'' achieve parity with their competition for the first time in years; and created a new FM radio division with competitive stations in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. During his NBC tenure, Silverman also brought in an entirely new divisional and corporate management team, which remained in place long after Silverman's departure (among this group was Brandon Tartikoff, who as President of Entertainment, would help get NBC back on top by 1985). Silverman also reintroduced the peacock as NBC's corporate logo in 1979.
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| [[Brandon Tartikoff]] || 1981–1991 || Tartikoff was hired as a program executive at ABC in 1976. He joined NBC the following year, after being hired by Dick Ebersol to direct comedy programs for the network. Tartikoff took over as president of NBC's entertainment division in 1981,<ref name="BarberaAutoBio">{{cite book|title=My Life in "Toons": From Flatbush to Bedrock in Under a Century|first=Joseph|last=Barbera|author-link=Joseph Barbera|publisher=[[Turner Publishing]]|location=Atlanta, Georgia|year=1994|isbn=1-57036-042-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/mylifeintoonsfro00barb/page/188 188–189]|url=https://archive.org/details/mylifeintoonsfro00barb/page/188}}</ref> becoming the youngest person ever to hold the position, at age 32. At the time Tartikoff took over, NBC was mired in last place behind ABC and CBS, and faced a looming writers' strike and affiliates defecting to other networks (mostly to ABC); ''Little House on the Prairie'', ''Diff'rent Strokes'' and ''Real People'' were the only prime time shows the network had in the Nielsen Top 20. Also of issue, Johnny Carson was reportedly in talks to move his landmark late-night talk show to ABC; while the original cast and writing staff of ''Saturday Night Live'' had left the show, and their replacements had earned ''SNL'' some of its worst reviews. 
By 1982, Tartikoff and network president Grant Tinker gradually turned the network's fortunes around.<ref name="BrandonAutoBio">{{cite book|title=The Last Great Ride|first=Brandon|last=Tartikoff|author-link=Brandon Tartikoff|publisher=Hyperion Books|location=New York City|year=1992|isbn=0-394-58709-X|url=https://archive.org/details/lastgreatride00tart}}</ref> Tartikoff's successes as President of Entertainment included ''The Cosby Show'' (Tartikoff had pursued actor-comedian [[Bill Cosby]] to create a comedy [[pilot episode|pilot]] after having been impressed by the comedian's stories when Cosby was a guest host on ''The Tonight Show''), the iconic 1980s drama ''Miami Vice'' (Tartikoff wrote a [[brainstorming]] [[memorandum|memo]] that simply read "[[MTV]] [[police|cops]]", and later presented it to former ''Hill Street Blues'' writer/producer [[Anthony Yerkovich]], who turned into the concept behind ''Miami Vice'').<ref name=makingofvice>{{cite book|title=The Making of Miami Vice|first=Trish|last=Janeshutz|author-link=Trish Janeshutz|publisher=Ballatine Books|location=New York City|year=1986|page=12|isbn=0-345-33669-0}}</ref><ref name="coolcops">{{cite magazine|last=Zoglin|first=Richard|author-link=Richard Zoglin|date=September 16, 1985|title=Cool Cops, Hot Show|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,959822,00.html|magazine=Time|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211221401/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,959822,00.html|archive-date=December 11, 2007|url-status=dead|access-date=November 2, 2007}}</ref><ref name=memo>{{cite news|title=Guiding No. 1: The Man Who Programs NBC|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE1D91438F93AA25757C0A96E948260|first=Peter J.|last=Boyer|newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 19, 1988|access-date=February 8, 2008}}</ref><ref name=nbcmiamivice>{{cite web|title=About the Show|url=https://www.nbc.com/miami-vice|publisher=NBCUniversal|access-date=January 3, 2018|archive-date=September 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180924145551/https://www.nbc.com/miami-vice|url-status=live}}</ref> and ''Knight Rider'' (which was inspired by a perceived lack of leading men who could act, with Tartikoff suggesting that a talking car could fill in the gaps in any leading man's acting abilities).<ref name="BrandonAutoBio"/> 

While ''Family Ties'' was undergoing its casting process, Tartikoff was unexcited about [[Michael J. Fox]] being considered for the role of Alex P. Keaton;<ref name="BrandonAutoBio"/> however, creator/executive producer [[Gary David Goldberg]] insisted on having Fox in the role until Tartikoff relented, saying, "Go ahead if you insist. But I'm telling you, this is not the kind of face you'll ever see on a [[lunch box]]". After Fox's stardom was cemented by ''[[Back to the Future]]'', he good-naturedly sent Tartikoff a lunch box with Fox's picture that contained a note reading: "To Brandon: This is for you to put your [[Eat crow|crow]] in. Love and Kisses, Michael J. Fox", which Tartikoff kept in his office for the rest of his career. 

Johnny Carson broke the news of his retirement in February 1991 to Tartikoff during a lunch meeting at the Grille in Beverly Hills. Tartikoff and chairman Bob Wright were the only ones who knew of the planned retirement before it was made public days later.<ref name="BrandonAutoBio"/> Tartikoff wrote in his memoirs that his biggest professional regret was cancelling the series ''[[Buffalo Bill (TV series)|Buffalo Bill]]'', which he later went on to include in a fantasy "dream schedule" created for a ''[[TV Guide]]'' article that detailed his idea of "The Greatest Network Ever".
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| [[Warren Littlefield]] || 1991–1998 || Littlefield helped develop ''Cheers'', ''The Cosby Show'' and ''The Golden Girls'' as senior, and later, executive vice president of NBC Entertainment under Brandon Tartikoff, of whom Littlefield was his protégé. During his tenure as president of NBC, Littlefield oversaw the creation of many hit shows during the 1990s such as ''Seinfeld'', ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'', ''Wings'', ''Blossom'', ''Law & Order'', ''Mad About You'', ''Sisters'', ''Frasier'', ''Friends'', ''ER'', ''[[Homicide: Life on the Street]]'', ''[[Caroline in the City]]'', ''[[NewsRadio]]'', ''[[3rd Rock from the Sun]]'', ''[[Suddenly Susan]]'', ''Just Shoot Me!'', ''Will & Grace'' and ''The West Wing''.
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| [[Scott Sassa]] || 1998–1999 || Sassa joined NBC in September 1997 as president of the NBC Television Stations division, where he was responsible for overseeing the operation of NBC's then 13 owned-and-operated stations.<ref>{{cite web|title=Can Scott Sassa Revive NBC? Can Anyone?|url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1999/02/01/254416/index.htm|first=Patricia|last=Sellers|work=[[CNN Money]]|date=February 1, 1999|access-date=September 5, 2012|archive-date=March 17, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130317051743/http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1999/02/01/254416/index.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In October 1998, Sassa became president of NBC Entertainment, lasting in that position for eight months until he was reassigned to NBC's West Coast division in May 1999, where, as its president, he oversaw NBC's entertainment-related businesses.<ref name="Sassa">{{cite news|last=Carter|first=Bill|date=May 22, 2002|title=NBC to Make West Coast Executive an Adviser|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/22/business/nbc-to-make-west-coast-executive-an-adviser.html?ref=scottmsassa|access-date=September 5, 2012|archive-date=March 25, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325050616/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/22/business/nbc-to-make-west-coast-executive-an-adviser.html?ref=scottmsassa|url-status=live}}</ref> Sassa made the transition to that position after working alongside his predecessor, Don Ohlmeyer. During this time, he oversaw the development and production of NBC's new prime time series, including such shows as ''The West Wing'', ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' and ''Fear Factor''. Under Sassa, NBC rated as the No. 1 network for three out of four seasons.
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| [[Garth Ancier]] || 1999–2000 || Ancier, who also worked as a television producer (most notably, serving as executive producer of tabloid talk show ''[[Ricki Lake (TV series)|Ricki Lake]]'') prior to joining the network, was named President of NBC Entertainment in 1999.
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| [[Jeff Zucker]] || 2000–2004 || Zucker was named President of NBC Entertainment in 2000, succeeding Garth Ancier.<ref>{{cite news|title=Network Heat Gets Even Hotter; At NBC, an Executive Moves From News to Entertainment|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/25/business/network-heat-gets-even-hotter-nbc-executive-moves-entertainment.html|first=Bill|last=Carter|newspaper=The New York Times|date=December 25, 2000|access-date=May 17, 2019|archive-date=May 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517221717/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/25/business/network-heat-gets-even-hotter-nbc-executive-moves-entertainment.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In a 2004 profile on Zucker, ''[[Businessweek]]'' stated that in his four years as entertainment president, he was responsible for having "kept the network ahead of the pack by airing the [[gross out]] show ''Fear Factor'', negotiating for the cast of the hit series ''Friends'' to take the series up to a tenth season, and signing Donald Trump for the reality show ''[[The Apprentice (American TV series)|The Apprentice]]''" and having helped increase NBC's operating revenue from $532&nbsp;million in 1999 to $870&nbsp;million by 2003. Other critical or commercial successes green lit under Zucker included ''Las Vegas'', ''[[Law & Order: Criminal Intent]]'' and ''[[Scrubs (TV series)|Scrubs]]''. He originated the concept of airing "Supersized" episodes (running longer than the standard 30-minute slot) of NBC sitcoms during sweeps and making aggressive programming efforts during the summer to compete with cable networks that began to draw viewers to their original programming content while the networks ran mostly reruns. 
Zucker also oversaw the successful transition of [[Bravo (American TV channel)|Bravo]] (which NBC acquired from [[Rainbow Media]] in 2002) from a film and arts-focused network to a network primarily reliant on reality series, and the repositioning of Telemundo to become more competitive with leading Spanish-language network Univision. In May 2004, following NBC's merger with [[Vivendi Universal]], Zucker was promoted to president of the [[NBCUniversal Television Group|NBC Universal Television Group]]. 
Zucker's responsibilities, which already included NBC's cable channels, were expanded to include oversight of television production as well as [[USA Network]], [[Syfy|Sci-Fi Channel]] and [[Trio (TV network)|Trio]]. Following his promotion, NBC slid from first place to fourth in the ratings. Shows that Zucker championed such as animated series ''[[Father of the Pride]]'' and the ''Friends'' spinoff ''Joey'' floundered.<ref>{{cite web|title=Now Jeff Zucker Must Prove Himself Yet Again|url=http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_08/b4022042.htm|work=[[Businessweek]]|date=February 19, 2007 |access-date=May 14, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110418070707/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_08/b4022042.htm |archive-date=April 18, 2011}}</ref>
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| [[Kevin Reilly (executive)|Kevin Reilly]] || 2004–2007 || Reilly was appointed President of Entertainment in May 2004. Having begun his career at NBC Entertainment almost two decades earlier, he returned to the network in the fall of 2003 as President of Primetime Development. Early in his NBC career, Reilly supervised ''Law & Order'' in its first season and helped develop ''ER''. After his first stint at NBC, Reilly became President of Brad Grey Television, the television production arm of [[Brillstein-Grey Entertainment]], in 1994. He was responsible for the development of the pilot for ''[[The Sopranos]]'', and NBC sitcoms ''Just Shoot Me!'' and ''NewsRadio''. Reilly's vocal support of ''The Office'' helped it survive its first season, despite it suffering from low ratings.<ref name="Analysis: Is Reilly a Scapegoat for NBC's Failures?">{{cite web|title=Analysis: Is Reilly a Scapegoat for NBC's Failures?|url=http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/networktv/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003591026|first=John|last=Consoli|work=Mediaweek|date=May 28, 2007 |access-date=June 1, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008103640/http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/networktv/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003591026 |archive-date=October 8, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> 
Shows developed under Reilly included ''My Name Is Earl'', ''Heroes'', ''30 Rock'' and ''Friday Night Lights''.<ref name="Kevin Reilly Revived Must-See TV at NBC">{{cite web|title=Kevin Reilly Revived Must-See TV at NBC|url=http://blogs.mediavillage.com/ed_martin/archives/2007/05/kevin_reilly.html|first=Ed|last=Martin|work=MediaVillage.com|date=May 30, 2007 |access-date=June 1, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070702130305/http://blogs.mediavillage.com/ed_martin/archives/2007/05/kevin_reilly.html |archive-date=July 2, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Although he signed a new three-year contract with NBC in February 2007, Reilly was terminated as president in late May 2007.<ref name="Reilly Expected To Lose Job At NBC">{{cite news|title=Reilly Expected To Lose Job At NBC|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/television/2007-05-28-434393200_x.htm|newspaper=USA Today|date=May 28, 2007|access-date=May 31, 2007|archive-date=January 11, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150111080509/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/television/2007-05-28-434393200_x.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Approximately one month later, he joined Fox as its President of Entertainment.
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| [[Ben Silverman]] || 2007–2009 || Silverman and Marc Graboff were appointed co-chairmen of NBC Entertainment in 2007, succeeding Kevin Reilly. That year, Silverman became the first producer since [[Norman Lear]] (in 1973) to have two Emmy-nominated shows in the "Outstanding Comedy/Variety Series" category (''The Office'' and ABC's ''[[Ugly Betty]]'').<ref name="Two Emmys in Best Comedy">{{cite web|title=Silverman the peacock at NBC-Uni's pre-Emmy party|url=http://www.hollywoodtoday.net/2007/09/16/silverman-throws-perfect-storm-party-as-he-makes-emmy-history/|work=Hollywood Today|date=September 16, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131018013943/http://www.hollywoodtoday.net/2007/09/16/silverman-throws-perfect-storm-party-as-he-makes-emmy-history/|archive-date=October 18, 2013|df=mdy-all}}</ref> He is credited for his role in saving the critically acclaimed but low-rated NBC drama ''Friday Night Lights'' by striking an innovative deal,<ref name="FNL DIrecTV deal">{{cite web|title=Ben Silverman, 'Friday Night Lights' Savior: Saved Show By 'Yelling At A Lot Of People'|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/31/ben-silverman-friday-nigh_n_181505.html|work=The Huffington Post|date=March 31, 2009|access-date=April 16, 2020|archive-date=October 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018021420/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/31/ben-silverman-friday-nigh_n_181505.html|url-status=live}}</ref> in which [[DirecTV]] agreed to take on a substantial amount of the show's production budget in exchange for exclusive [[Broadcast syndication|first window]] rights to broadcast the program on [[Audience Network|The 101]] while NBC would re-air the episodes later in the season.<ref name="FNL repurpose">{{cite web|title='Friday Night Lights' Gets 26-Episode Order From DirecTV, NBC|url=http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/03/friday_night_lights_gets_26epi.php|work=TVWeek|date=March 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131018001325/http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/03/friday_night_lights_gets_26epi.php |archive-date=October 18, 2013}}</ref>
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| [[Jeff Gaspin]] || 2009–2010 || Gaspin first joined NBC in the early 1980s, as part of its associates program, after failing to find any jobs in finance on [[Wall Street]]. After spending five years in the finance department, he was promoted to a programming position at NBC News at the urging of the news division's then-president Michael Gartner, before being moved to the entertainment division. During his first tenure, Gaspin helped to develop and launch ''Dateline NBC'' and oversaw the expansion of ''Today'' to weekends. In 1996, Gaspin left NBC to become program development chief at [[VH1]]. Gaspin returned to NBC in 2001 as Executive Vice President of Program Strategy at NBC Entertainment, where he helped to develop new programs such as ''The Apprentice'' and ''The Biggest Loser''. In 2002, Gaspin was appointed as President of Bravo, following NBC's purchase of the cable channel, where his most notable accomplishments were the massive hits ''[[Queer Eye for the Straight Guy]]'' and ''[[Project Runway]]''. He was reassigned to President of NBC Universal Cable and Digital Content in 2007.<ref>{{cite news|title=NBC Universal Executive Biographies|url=http://www.nbcuni.com/About_NBC_Universal/Executive_Bios/gaspin_jeff.shtml|year=2008|work=[[NBCUniversal]] |access-date=October 22, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101227213904/http://www.nbcuni.com/About_NBC_Universal/Executive_Bios/gaspin_jeff.shtml |archive-date=December 27, 2010}}</ref> In July 2009, Gaspin was promoted to Chairman of NBC Universal Television Entertainment, becoming responsible for NBC Entertainment, USA Network, Bravo and [[NBCUniversal Television Distribution|NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution]].
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| [[Robert Greenblatt]] || 2011–2018 || Greenblatt succeeded Jeff Gaspin in January 2011 after Comcast took control of [[NBCUniversal]]. Under Greenblatt's direction, NBC saw major successes with the [[Chicago (franchise)|''Chicago'' series franchise]], ''[[This Is Us]]'', the revival of ''[[Will & Grace]]'', and several live musical productions. The success of many of his programs led NBC to take over CBS as the No. 1 network during the [[2017–18 United States network television schedule|2017–18 television season]] for the first time in sixteen years. Greenblatt departed NBC in September 2018.<ref>{{cite news|title=Comcast's Plans for Executives Offer Clues to Future of NBC|first=Bill|last=Carter|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/22/business/media/22nbc.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=November 21, 2010|access-date=March 13, 2017|archive-date=August 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807112326/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/22/business/media/22nbc.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2018/09/robert-greenblatt-exit-from-nbc-1202465213/|title=Robert Greenblatt Eyes Exit From NBC|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|date=September 21, 2018|website=Deadline|access-date=August 12, 2019|archive-date=August 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190813000129/https://deadline.com/2018/09/robert-greenblatt-exit-from-nbc-1202465213/|url-status=live}}</ref>
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| George Cheeks & Paul Telegdy || 2018–2020 || Cheeks and Telegdy succeeded Robert Greenblatt in September 2018, following Greenblatt's departure.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2018/09/george-cheeks-paul-telegdy-succeed-bob-greenblatt-nbc-entertainment-co-chairmen-robert-greenblatt-exit-1202470064/|title=George Cheeks & Paul Telegdy To Succeed Bob Greenblatt At NBC Entertainment|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|date=September 24, 2018|website=Deadline|access-date=August 12, 2019|archive-date=August 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190812211152/https://deadline.com/2018/09/george-cheeks-paul-telegdy-succeed-bob-greenblatt-nbc-entertainment-co-chairmen-robert-greenblatt-exit-1202470064/|url-status=live}}</ref> Cheeks moved to CBS in January 2020.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Littleton|first1=Cynthia|title=NBC Alum George Cheeks to Take Reins of CBS as Joe Ianniello Exits|url=https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/george-cheeks-joe-ianniello-viacomcbs-1203488105/|access-date=December 17, 2021|work=Variety|date=January 31, 2020|archive-date=December 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211218000141/https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/george-cheeks-joe-ianniello-viacomcbs-1203488105/|url-status=live}}</ref> Telegdy left in August 2020 after accusations of racism.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Low|first1=Elaine|title=Paul Telegdy Exits as NBCUniversal Overhauls TV Structure|url=https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/paul-telegdy-out-nbcuniversal-reorganization-1234727533/|access-date=December 17, 2021|work=Variety|date=August 6, 2020|archive-date=December 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211218000140/https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/paul-telegdy-out-nbcuniversal-reorganization-1234727533/|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| [[Jeff Shell]]
| 2020–2023
| Shell is also the CEO of NBCUniversal until he was fired due to a scandal.
|}