Ted Harbert | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 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 |
| Spouse | Lisa Medrano (m. 2011) |
| 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 , [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 an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered at the Comcast Building in New York City, NBC also has offices in Los Angeles at 10 Universal City Plaza and in Chicago at the NBC Tower.
Comcast Corporation, incorporated and headquartered in Philadelphia, is the largest American multinational telecommunications and media conglomerate. The corporation is the second-largest broadcasting and cable television company in the world by revenue, and is also the largest pay-TV company, the largest cable TV company, and largest home Internet service provider in the United States. Comcast is additionally the nation's third-largest home telephone service provider. It provides services to U.S. residential and commercial customers in 40 states and the District of Columbia. As the owner of the international media company NBCUniversal since 2011, Comcast is also a high-volume producer of feature films for theatrical exhibition, over-the-air and cable television programming, and theme park operator.
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.
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Chelsea Joy Handler is an American 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.
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