IT'S OFFICIAL: 'OFFICE' PRODUCER SILVERMAN IN AT NBC UNI TV, WILL CO-CHAIR WITH GRABOFF...REILLY OUT (NYT, DHD, VAR, THR)

By Nancy Vialatte

Following reports all weekend long that Kevin Reilly was out as NBC president of entertainment with hot young production talent Ben Silverman ready to step in, the news is finally official. Deadline Hollywood Daily reported on the goings on on Friday but official news didn’t hit until yesterday.

Silverman will now act as co-chairman of both the entertainment division and the television studio along with Marc Graboff. The move effectively gives the duo control over NBC’s entertainment business in California.

Yesterday’s announcements, which had been expected, were the culmination of an intense weekend of negotiations as Jeff Zucker, the chief executive of NBC Universal, put together an offer to hire Mr. Silverman, who has been among the most successful suppliers of programs to NBC Universal over the last three years through his company, Reveille. NBC has held an interest in the company and it announced yesterday that it had extended its deal with Reveille for two years but not acquired the company outright. In a telephone interview, Mr. Zucker said, “We never contemplated buying Ben’s company,” and Mr. Silverman said, “I didn’t want to sell it.” (NYT)

Other sources suggested that NBC Uni wanted to buy Reveille outright but did not get interest from Diller, who is said to have chafed at how he was handled during the NBC-Universal merger in 2003. Diller had a minority interest in Vivendi Universal Entertainment. But Zucker denied that NBC Uni ever made a play for Reveille, though the company did previously have a stake in the company. "We never looked at buying Reveille," he said. "It was never part of the discussion at any point." (THR)

Silverman also said he accepted Zucker's offer despite the fact that it reps a pay cut for him. "I am taking a massive financial hit, which is a testament to how passionate I am about this job," Silverman told Daily Variety.

For much of the last decade, Mr. Silverman, 36, has pushed deals that helped reshape the content of television programs. As an agent for the William Morris Agency in London, he was in the middle of transactions that brought reality shows to American networks, including “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” and “Survivor.” (NYT)

As an independent producer, he was active in buying format rights to foreign shows and turning them into American series, with “The Office” on NBC and “Ugly Betty” on ABC. He developed reality series for network and cable channels, including “The Biggest Loser” for NBC and “Nashville Star” for the USA network. (NYT)

Jeff Zucker, meanwhile, said the deal to secure Silverman’s services had been put together hurriedly in the last 7 to 10 days, largely because Silverman and his company were in play at other media outlets, according to the New York Times.

NBC U supremo said he looked to the feature world for inspiration in restructuring his Burbank exec team, noting the successful collaboration of former Warner Bros. leaders Bob Daly and Terry Semel. He also cited the current pairing of Universal Pictures co-toppers Marc Shmuger and David Linde. (VAR)

Latter partnership "has been a big win and a big success for us. It's something Ron Meyer put together, and it works well. And there has never been a better tenure than Daly and Semel," Zucker said. (VAR)

Silverman’s first assignment will likely be to shore up NBC’s prime-time programs following a more than lackluster season.

Meanwhile, Variety reports that Angela Bromstad, who had been studio president, will leave for another gig within the company, most likely running a new international arm in London and that Katherine Pope, Reilly's highly respected chief development exec, has been asked to stay on.

The Hollywood Reporter says it is possible that Pope could hang on for the top job at NBC Uni TV Studio, but that Graboff noted it likely won't remain a president-level post as it was under Bromstad.