NBCUniversal’s long-awaited move to spin off most of its cable assets and reorganize the studio’s top management led to many questions about the media conglomerate’s future — and a case of Donna Langley déjà vu for many in the industry.
The experienced film director who was Chief Content Officer for all of NBCUniversal is now that yet again expanded her role at the company, this time to chairman of NBCUniversal Entertainment and Studios. The promotion gives her sole green light over content and marketing spend for film, TV and streaming. Comcast veteran Matt Strauss was named chairman of NBCUniversal’s media group, overseeing ad sales, distribution and affiliate relationships.
“This is a coronation for Donna,” said an elite dealmaker who works with actors and directors. “Well, one more.”
The agent isn’t wrong, and neither are many Hollywood players Variety spoke to those wondering what the difference is between her new role and the Chief Content Officer role she took on 16 months ago. It was then, in July 2023, that Langley was put in charge of all creative efforts within the company. But in an organization as byzantine as NBCU, there is palace intrigue behind every peacock feather. This time, the big chess piece sliding onto Langley’s side of the board is Bravo.
Over the past year and a half, tensions have flared within the groups led by Langley and former NBCU media group chairman Mark Lazarus, an executive who will now serve as CEO of the cable spinoff company (which will boast assets like USA Network, CNBC, Syfy, MSNBC and E!).
While Langley controlled all production operations, Lazarus oversaw NBC programming and NBCU’s most valuable cable assets in the streaming era: Bravo, thanks to its sticky brand of unscripted hits, including “The Real Housewives,” “Top Chef” and “ Below Deck” Franchises. Those shows perform well via streaming on Peacock with millennials and Gen Z, which is why Bravo is the only linear cable channel to stick with the mothership. The rift between Lazarus and Langley caused confusion among sellers and their deal brokers from the start, sources said.
“Why do I need two yeses when Donna is in charge?” another top agent wondered out loud earlier this summer. The awkward scenario also caused some headaches for Francis Berwick, who had been chairman of NBCUniversal Entertainment and oversaw content and strategy for NBC and the cable channels. Technically, she’d been reporting to two bosses while helping NBC plan the “Chicago” dramas and Bravo serve the “Housewives” tea — and even stronger stuff at the popular Bravocon fan conventions that have been a hot topic of late. have become a lucrative business for NBCU. .
Playing a years-long waiting game to reach her position of power – a rare seat of autonomy for a woman at the studio level – Langley made her living producing blockbuster film franchises and luring star talent, including the top filmmaker of his generation, Christopher Nolan, who remains hanging to make his next film after netting Universal a best picture Oscar and nearly $1 billion in global box office grosses for 2023’s “Oppenheimer.” She is also highly regarded by the directors and producers she guides from development to screen and, increasingly, to streaming IP-based ‘bridge content’ such as ‘Jurassic World’ and ‘Fast and Furious’ .
Retaining Langley has led to some shrinkage in the C-suite. Also in July 2023, Comcast president Michael Cavanagh (who has been de facto CEO of NBCU since Jeff Shell’s departure in April 2023) fired his then-TV and streaming head Susan Rovner. Such changes would theoretically give Langley a better chance of executing her vision — but Lazarus wasn’t going to be shaken off so easily, three insiders close to NBCU parent company Comcast said. Variety. Especially after he helped pull off what Comcast brass deemed a real Olympics in Paris this summer, an event that synergized with the subtlety of a fire hose across all NBCU properties. But by September, insiders said, the winds changed. Rumors circulated that Lazarus would move into advertising sales, sports and operations. An NBCU insider said such changes were not considered until last month, when Lazarus was offered the job to lead the spinoff company. The insider also downplayed any personal conflict between Langley and Lazarus, though she admitted the previous structure needed more “clarity.”
With Strauss, Langley gets a partner with whom it can implement new processes while managing its own balance sheets, added another senior insider familiar with the company. Strauss is considered a trusted star by the Philadelphia set, said another source, having earned the trust of Comcast CEO Brian Roberts over the years through his work on the Comcast side of the house that built cable. But when it comes to creativity, the lifeblood of NBCU, Langley will be in charge.
While this latest “coronation” puts Langley firmly at the top of the pyramid, don’t expect the NBCU intrigue to die down. The new spun-off entity of Lazarus will be given free rein after existing NBCU talent, and NBCU may have to dig deep to keep its core players attached to what is undoubtedly a smaller media empire beyond Wednesday. There will also likely be casualties in the form of layoffs at both companies.
This symphony (also the name of NBCU’s beloved vertical integration program) will require much more coordination.