Steve Burke NBCUniversal
Steve Burke, CEO of NBCUniversal, announced on Monday, January 14 the plan to launch a streaming service with advertising support in 2020, initially for the US market and to go international in time, reported Variety.
The announcement of the streaming service coincided with a restructuring of high executive ranks in NBCU. The Chief of Cable, Bonnie Hammer, will become chairman of Direct-to-Consumer and Digital Enterprises. Mark Lazarus and Jeff Shell will have more responsibilities, Lazarus having been appointed chairman, NBCUniversal Broadcast, Cable, Sports and News, running cable operations previously handled by Hammer; and Shell becomes chairman of NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment, where he will take oversight of NBC Entertainment, Telemundo, and NBCU’s international operations.
Hammer, Lazarus and Shell will continue to report directly to Burke, who states these changes will allow him to concentrate on the launch of the streaming service and the acquisition of Sky.
Likewise, Donna Langley, will become chairman, Universal Filmed entertainment, after sharing the position with Shell. Burke pointed out that this trio will enable decision-making regarding selling their programming to external buyers, such as Netflix, Amazon and other competitors.
NBCU plans to make the most of their content library, including originals and contents from external partners. They will also deliver content licenses to other studios and platforms, upon evaluation, since they will retain certain titles to attract audience to their new service.
