Ted Harbert | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Edward W. Harbert III June 15, 1955 New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Boston University |
| Occupation(s) | Broadcasting and television executive |
| Years active | 1973–present |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 2 |
Edward W. Harbert III (born June 15, 1955) is an American broadcasting and television executive. He was the Chairman of NBC Broadcasting, and the President and CEO of the Comcast Entertainment Group, and Chairman of ABC Entertainment. [1]
Born in 1955 in New York, Harbert is the son of Marna and Edward W. Harbert II, a pioneering television, advertising, and publishing executive. [2] One of six children, Harbert grew up immersed in television, and aspired to a career in the industry while still a child. In a 2005 article in Advertising Age , Harbert wrote, “I started poring over the ratings in Nielsen 'Pocket Pieces' when I was 9 years old. Two years later, I learned there were jobs at networks that picked shows and decided where they went on the schedule. From that moment, I wanted one of those jobs.”
Harbert began his broadcasting career while a student at Boston University’s college radio station, WTBU, where he worked alongside his friend, Howard Stern. After graduating magna cum laude with a degree in Broadcasting and Film from the Boston University School of Communications, Harbert returned to New York, where he worked at ABC. He relocated to Los Angeles in 1981 and spent 20 years at ABC, rising from a feature film coordinator to president of ABC Entertainment. [3] At ABC, Harbert was closely associated with groundbreaking programs such as The Wonder Years , [4] NYPD Blue , [5] The Practice , [6] and My So Called Life , [7] [8] among many others, and, during his tenure, ABC moved to the top in primetime programs in 1995 for the first time in 17 years, and led all the networks in profits for several years. [9]
In 1999, after a two-year post as a producer for DreamWorks TV, Harbert was named president of NBC Studios, [10] overseeing primetime, day time, and late night programs. [11]
In 2004, Harbert was appointed to the position of president, E! Networks. [12] In 2006, he was promoted to the newly created position of president and CEO at the Comcast Entertainment Group, overseeing E!, Style Network, G4, Comcast International Media Group, and Comcast Entertainment Productions. [13] When Harbert extended his contract with Comcast in 2010, it was noted that E!, in particular, had been a "big success" under his auspices, achieving six straight years of record ratings. [14]
Harbert was appointed to his most recent position in 2011, following Comcast's acquisition of NBC Universal. He was responsible for NBC Advertising Sales, the NBC Owned Television Stations, Affiliate Relations, Network Research, Domestic Television Distribution, NBCUniversal Digital Entertainment and Special Events. In 2013, it was announced that Harbert would oversee NBC Late Night. During Harbert's tenure, The Tonight Show returned to its birthplace of New York City, a move coinciding with the transition of hosts from Jay Leno to Jimmy Fallon, while Seth Meyers took former Saturday Night Live castmate Fallon's slot on Late Night . Harbert left NBCUniversal in 2016. [15] [16]
Harbert, who appeared as himself in an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm (Season 1, Episode 9), [17] is frequently referenced on the Howard Stern Show. Additionally, Harbert has been described as a "bold-faced name," due in part to a four-year relationship with comedian Chelsea Handler. [18]
Harbert was linked romantically with Chelsea Handler starting in 2005. They broke up in 2010 according to Handler because the two couldn't separate business and pleasure. [19]
Harbert and Lisa Medrano, a former human resources executive, were married on June 11, 2011. [20] Harbert has two children, Emily and Will, from a previous marriage.
He serves on the boards of Urban Arts Partnership, [21] the Friends of the Saban Free Clinic, City Year LA, Paley Center for Media, Hollywood Radio and Television Society, and the Executive Committee of Boston University's School of Communications. [22]
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is America’s first public broadcaster and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The headquarters of NBC is in New York City at the Comcast Building. NBC also has offices in Chicago at the NBC Tower.
Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings, is an American multinational telecommunications and media conglomerate incorporated and headquartered in Philadelphia.
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable television network. It is owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The channel focuses primarily on pop culture, celebrity based reality shows and movies.
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate that is a subsidiary of Comcast and is headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan in New York City.
Universal Television LLC is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which, in turn, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a predecessor of the company, NBC Studios, previously assumed such functions, and a substantial portion of the company's shows air on the network.
NBCUniversal Media Group is the television and streaming arm of NBCUniversal, and the direct descendant and successor of the former division NBCUniversal Television Group, which existed from 2004 to 2019.
NBC Sports Regional Networks is the collective name for a group of regional sports networks in the United States that are primarily owned and operated by the NBCUniversal division of the cable television company Comcast. The networks were originally established as Comcast SportsNet (CSN), a unit of Comcast's cable television business, beginning with a network in Philadelphia which launched in 1997. Their operations were aligned with the national NBC Sports division following the 2011 acquisition of NBCUniversal by Comcast. NBC Sports Regional Networks' business and master control operations are based in Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
NBCUniversal Syndication Studios, formerly known as NBCUniversal Television Distribution, Universal Domestic Television, Studios USA Television Distribution and MCA TV is the television syndication division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, in the United States. Its predecessors include NBC Enterprises, Universal Television Distribution, Multimedia Entertainment, PolyGram Television, and Sky Vision. At some point in its history, it was also known as "NBCUniversal Television & New Media Distribution" and "NBC Universal Television and New Media Distribution.” This unit is possibly the parent for the similarly named "NBCUniversal Domestic Television Distribution" unit.
New England Cable News (NECN) is a regional 24-hour cable news television network owned and operated by NBCUniversal serving the New England region of the United States. It focuses on regional news, though in some low priority timeslots, paid programming and programming from WNBC such as Talk Stoop and Open House are seen.
Chelsea Joy Handler is an American stand-up comedian, actress, writer, television host, and producer. She hosted the late-night talk show Chelsea Lately on the E! network from 2007 to 2014 and released a documentary series, Chelsea Does, on Netflix in January 2016. From 2016 to 2017, Handler hosted the talk show Chelsea on Netflix.
Disney General Entertainment Content (DGEC), formerly ABC Group, Disney–ABC Television Group and the second incarnation of Walt Disney Television, is part of Disney Entertainment, a division of The Walt Disney Company that oversees its owned-and-operated television content, assets and sub-divisions.
Boston University College of Communication (COM) is the communication school of Boston University (BU), a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1947, it was the first university in the United States to offer a degree in public relations (PR), and the program sets the standard for PR paths across the country. It houses the University's undergraduate and graduate programs in advertising, film and television, journalism, media science, and public relations.
Bonnie Hammer is an American network and studio executive. As of 2020, her title is vice-chairman, NBCUniversal.
Jeffrey Mark Gaspin is an American television executive and former chairman of NBC Universal Television Entertainment. Gaspin resigned his position in late 2010, as a precursor to Comcast taking controlling ownership of the now newly rechristened NBCUniversal, which occurred on January 28, 2011. Robert Greenblatt, former president of entertainment of Showtime Networks Inc., succeeded Gaspin. Gaspin founded Gaspin Media, a production and consulting company, in 2012, and co-founded TAPP TV, a subscription-based online TV network, in 2013.
On December 3, 2009, telecommunications company Comcast announced its intent to acquire mass media company NBC Universal from General Electric (GE). The acquisition was subject to scrutiny from activists and government officials; their concerns primarily surrounded the potential effects of the vertical integration that the acquisition could create, as Comcast is also heavily involved in cable television and internet services in many media markets. The deal went through on January 28, 2011, resulting in Comcast owning 51% of the company until March 19, 2013, when GE divested its stake to give Comcast sole ownership. Through this acquisition, Comcast gained ownership of the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), the film studio Universal Pictures, cable channels such as Syfy, CNBC and MSNBC, and Universal Parks & Resorts, among other assets owned by NBC Universal. It has also integrated its own cable channels – including E! and Golf Channel – into NBC Universal. As a result of the acquisition, NBC Universal slightly changed its name to "NBCUniversal", rendered in camel case, to indicate the integration between NBC and Universal Studios.
Robert Greenblatt is an American television executive, former chairman of NBC Entertainment and former chairman of WarnerMedia Entertainment. He has since launched his production company, The Green Room.
NBC Sports Group is a division of NBCUniversal Media Group that is responsible for NBC Sports' media properties, encompassing the NBC television network's sports division as well as day-to-day operation of the company's sports-oriented cable networks and other properties such as NBC Sports Radio.
NBC Owned Television Stations is the division of NBCUniversal Owned TV Stations (NBCUniversal), a subsidiary of Comcast that oversees the NBC owned-and-operated television stations, Cozi TV network, LXTV and Skycastle Entertainment, its in-house marketing and promotion company. NBCUniversal's Telemundo owned-and-operated stations are held in the separate Telemundo Station Group.
Peacock is an American over-the-top subscription streaming service owned and operated by Peacock TV, LLC, a subsidiary of NBCUniversal Media Group. Named after the NBC logo, the service launched on July 15, 2020.