NBC Universal is dividing TV studio

NBC UNIVERSAL IS DIVIDING TV STUDIO
NBC Universal, in a bid to retain a key executive, has split its television production studio into two separate operations. Bonnie Hammer, who has been president of both NBC Universal's USA Network and Sci Fi Channel, on Monday was named president of cable entertainment and the cable studio. In her new position, Hammer will oversee making shows for cable channels. The move significantly reduces the scope of Universal Media Studios, one of Hollywood's biggest suppliers of network and cable programming. Universal Media Studios will now focus solely on supplying shows for broadcast networks, primarily NBC, such as "Law & Order," "The Office" and "30 Rock." Meanwhile, the newly formed NBC Universal Cable Studio will provide shows for cable channels, including "Monk," "Psych" and "Battlestar Galactica." Hammer also will oversee NBC's new digital networks, including Sleuth, Chiller and Universal HD, which are available on some cable systems. Executives close to the situation said NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker facilitated the reorganization to keep Hammer in the NBC Universal fold. Giving Hammer a higher profile underscores how the cable division has become the new star at NBC Universal, overshadowing the higher-profile broadcast network, which just a few years ago was ranked No. 1. Underscoring that shift, NBC last month said that instead of spending a day in New York touting its new fall shows to advertisers, as it has for decades, it would now use that time to showcase programming from all its channels.
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-nbc25mar25,1,972970.s...
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