Search »

Entertainment Pres. Reilly Out, Silverman In at NBC U

More executive shake-ups are occurring at NBC Universal, this time affecting executives at the very top. The Peacock is expected to announce today that it has fired Kevin Reilly, the network’s entertainment president since 2004.

Ben Silverman, a William Morris Agency executive who founded Reveille studio, is expected to replace him, writes Variety. Reilly had just signed a three-year contract in March, and will be given a financial package to leave.

Mark Graboff, NBC U West Coast president, is expected to work more closely with Silverman than he did with Reilly.

Reilly is considered by some to have been hampered in turning the network’s fourth-place standing around because he was not given the autonomy and authority to develop the depth and breadth of programming necessary to do so, according to Mediaweek.

Reilly was responsible for bring My Name is Earl, Deal or No Deal, Heroes and The Office (produced by Silverman’s Reveille studio) to the network. At FX, Reilly brought hit dramas such as The Shield and Nip/Tuck to the schedule.

Sources say that Reilly was told he could do only half the number of pilots the other Big Four networks were developing for the 2007-08 season. Reilly put a positive spin on the situation during his upfront presentation, saying that the network wasn’t putting so many new shows on the schedule that they would get lost among other fall shows. But it seems clear to insiders that NBC does not have enough new shows on its schedule to give it a serious shot at significantly boosting ratings.