The game of musical chairs continues at NBCUniversal.
Donna Langley, former chairman of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, has been promoted to head up all of the company’s entertainment divisions, including film and TV.
The move comes as Susan Rovner, chairman of entertainment content for NBCUniversal’s television and streaming division, exits the company.
“Donna has been shaping the cultural conversation and creating the framework for what a modern-day studio can accomplish through bold content, impactful marketing and business model innovation,” Mike Cavanagh, president of Comcast, wrote in an internal memo obtained by Adweek. “She will leverage her longstanding relationships with the creative community and ability to partner with the most prolific storytellers in our business to unlock a seamless cross-portfolio creative strategy including programming, distribution and marketing across film, television and streaming.”
Rovner, who “decided to step down” according to Cavanagh’s memo, had been at NBCUniversal since October 2020, overseeing NBC hits such as Night Court and breakout Peacock shows Poker Face, Bupkis and The Traitors. She also had a significant role presenting at NBCU’s 2023 upfront week event.
This is one of the first major moves for Cavanagh since taking over as head of NBCUniversal from former CEO Jeff Shell, who was fired after a sexual harassment investigation.
Cavanagh will continue to lead NBCU as president of Comcast, opting not to name a new CEO. Instead, leadership will be split up amongst four operational heads, including Langley, Mark Lazarus, Cesar Conde and Mark Woodbury.
Lazarus, chairman of TV and streaming, will run NBCUniversal Media Group, and will also permanently take over the ad sales division. Per Cavanagh’s memo, he will continue to report to Mark Marshall, interim chairman of global advertising and partnerships. Current news boss Conde will run NBCU News Group, and parks chief Woodbury will head up the Universal Destinations and Experiences Group.
Frances Berwick will be promoted to chairman of NBCUniversal Entertainment, reporting to Lazarus and Langley, adding original content across broadcast, cable and Peacock to her current responsibilities running the linear entertainment networks. Berwick’s new role is equivalent to Rovner’s current job.
“This new structure will facilitate a streamlined decision-making process and foster even more collaboration across our company,” Cavanagh wrote. “I’m very excited to work with this team to build on our great momentum and drive NBCU forward.”
