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After a Rocky Road, Silverman Finally Leaves NBC Universal

As Jeff Gaspin becomes the main man, Silverman says, "This fall will be my judgment."

By Josef Adalian & Michael Speier
Published: July 27, 2009
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Hotel Bel-Air, 1946-2009

The Hotel Bel-Air has undergone a lot of changes over the years, but it's in for its biggest face-lift via a two-year renovation. Here is a collection of then and now photos.

The Ben SIlverman experiment is finally over at NBC Universal.

 

Silverman is leaving the conglomerate and is partnering with old pal Barry Diller to form a new company, headed by Silverman, "to capitalize on the ever-evolving world of multimedia production and distribution," according to a release from Diller's IAC.

 

Jeff Gaspin (below) has been named Chairman, NBC Universal Television Entertainment, effective immediately. Silverman had been Co-Chairman, NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios. Marc Graboff will now inherit that role as sole Chairman.

 

Silverman's friend, multimedia maven Ryan Seacrest, broke the news of Silverman's new gig at around 5:54 a.m. Monday via Twitter.

 

Silverman's departure ends two years of drama and overall bad vibes at the fourth-place network. With Gaspin getting promoted -- and Silverman gone -- the thinking is that there will be a more professional and stable atmosphere which would help any kind of turnaround.

 

Asked what his legacy will be, Silverman told TheWrap, "This fall will be my judgment."

 

Indeed, the upcoming season sees a major shift in the TV landscape, as "The Jay Leno Show" is stripped across five days during primetime.

 

During Silverman's tenure, there have been no new breakout shows and an unusually high number of high profile bombs like "My Own Worst Enemy," and "Knight Rider." Silverman fared better with reality shows "The Biggest Loser" and "America's Got Talent" expanding their success under his reign.

 

Diller told TheWrap, "I had always thought Ben Silverman was wrong for the NBC job -- he's such a natural entrepreuner, such a natural productive selling force that I'm sure this is the right confirguration for him."

 

IAC said it will provide seed money for the new company but that the new venture will ultimately not be part of IAC's financial results. It plans to bring on new investors, including, perhaps, NBC Universal.

 

Diller and Silverman (at right) have had a long relationship ever since Silverman's powerful production company, Reveille, was originally set up at Diller's USA Entertainment.

 

With Gaspin, NBC U President & CEO Jeff Zucker is putting one of his most trusted aides in a critical position. Zucker has said that Gaspin's low-key operating style -- relative to the omnipresent Silverman -- has been a major plus. (Gaspin talks to TheWrap; see accompanying story.)

 

Gaspin already has responsibility for the company's cable properties, including Syfy, USA, Bravo and Oxygen. He also oversees the company's distribution efforts.

 

Silverman will, according to NBC U, remain on board for several weeks in order to assist the launch of the network's fall schedule. Zucker told TheWrap that Diller had approached Silverman several weeks ago.

 

The NBC U announcements were made by Zucker, to whom Gaspin will report.

 

"There's no question that the broadcast model is under strain," Zucker told TheWrap. "Ratings create a perception, but that's not the only way to judge things.

 
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December 10, 2009, 4:52AM
mack10 Says

Greenhouse gases
Main articles: Greenhouse gas and Greenhouse effect

Greenhouse effect schematic showing energy flows between space, the atmosphere, and earth's surface. Energy exchanges are expressed in watts per square meter (W/m2).

Recent atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) increases. Monthly CO2 measurements display seasonal oscillations in overall yearly uptrend; each year's maximum occurs during the Northern Hemisphere's late spring, and declines during its growing season as plants remove some atmospheric CO2.The greenhouse effect is the process by which absorption and emission of infrared radiation by gases in the atmosphere warm a palanet's lower atmosphere and surface. It was discovered by Joseph Fourier in 1824 and was first investigated quantitatively by Svante Arrhenius in 1896.[19] Existence of the greenhouse effect as such is not disputed, even by those who do not agree that the recent temperature increase is attributable to human activity. The question is instead how the strength of the greenhouse effect changes when human activity increases the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Naturally occurring greenhouse gases have a mean warming effect of about 33 °C (59 °F).[20][C] The major greenhouse gases are water vapor, which causes about 36–70 percent of the greenhouse effect; carbon dioxide (CO2), which causes 9–26 percent; methane (CH4), which causes 4–9 percent[not in citation given]; and ozone (O3), which causes 3–7 percent.[21][22] Clouds also affect the radiation balance, but they are composed of liquid water or ice and so are considered separately from water vapor and other gases.

Human activity since the Industrial Revolution has increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, leading to increased radiative forcing from CO2, methane, tropospheric ozone, CFCs and nitrous oxide. The concentrations of CO2 and methane have increased by 36% and 148% respectively since the mid-1700s.[23] These levels are much higher than at any time during the last 650,000 years, the period for which reliable data has been extracted from ice cores.[24] Less direct geological evidence indicates that CO2 values this high were last seen about 20 million years ago.[25] Fossil fuel burning has produced about three-quarters of the increase in CO2 from human activity over the past 20 years. Most of the rest is due to land-use change, particularly deforestation.[26]

CO2 concentrations are continuing to rise due to burning of fossil fuels and land-use change. The future rate of rise will depend on uncertain economic, sociological, technological, and natural developments. Accordingly, the IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios gives a wide range of future CO2 scenarios, ranging from 541 to 970 ppm by the year 2100.[27] Fossil fuel reserves are sufficient to reach these levels and continue emissions past 2100 if coal, tar sands or methane clathrates are extensively exploited.[28]

The destruction of stratospheric ozone by chlorofluorocarbons is sometimes mentioned in relation to global warming. mp3 indir usdown.net watchfootballlive.org watchnflfootballlive.net watchfootballlive.org nflfootballonline.org nflfootballonline.net nflfootballlive.net Although there are a few areas of linkage, the relationship between the two is not strong. Reduction of stratospheric ozone has a cooling influence, but substantial ozone depletion did not occur until the late 1970s.[29] Tropospheric ozone contributes to surface warming

July 27, 2009, 9:14AM
Ester Says

AND WHO PREDICTED THIS LAST WEEK IN HER BLOG??? ME!!! I said after wreckin NBC primetime with his OWN shows from his OWN production company. ..he would get hired for another lucrative position...and there ya have it!

Onyl Hollywood Rewards failure...

smooches,
Ester

Views From A Broad: "Hollywood 'smost loved and funny ass Blog"
http://estergoldberg.com

July 27, 2009, 8:22AM
Dillerkiller Says

Now THIS is the kind of incisive reporting we've come to expect from The Wrap!

Comments

December 10, 2009, 4:52AM
mack10 Says

Greenhouse gases
Main articles: Greenhouse gas and Greenhouse effect

Greenhouse effect schematic showing energy flows between space, the atmosphere, and earth's surface. Energy exchanges are expressed in watts per square meter (W/m2).

Recent atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) increases. Monthly CO2 measurements display seasonal oscillations in overall yearly uptrend; each year's maximum occurs during the Northern Hemisphere's late spring, and declines during its growing season as plants remove some atmospheric CO2.The greenhouse effect is the process by which absorption and emission of infrared radiation by gases in the atmosphere warm a palanet's lower atmosphere and surface. It was discovered by Joseph Fourier in 1824 and was first investigated quantitatively by Svante Arrhenius in 1896.[19] Existence of the greenhouse effect as such is not disputed, even by those who do not agree that the recent temperature increase is attributable to human activity. The question is instead how the strength of the greenhouse effect changes when human activity increases the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Naturally occurring greenhouse gases have a mean warming effect of about 33 °C (59 °F).[20][C] The major greenhouse gases are water vapor, which causes about 36–70 percent of the greenhouse effect; carbon dioxide (CO2), which causes 9–26 percent; methane (CH4), which causes 4–9 percent[not in citation given]; and ozone (O3), which causes 3–7 percent.[21][22] Clouds also affect the radiation balance, but they are composed of liquid water or ice and so are considered separately from water vapor and other gases.

Human activity since the Industrial Revolution has increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, leading to increased radiative forcing from CO2, methane, tropospheric ozone, CFCs and nitrous oxide. The concentrations of CO2 and methane have increased by 36% and 148% respectively since the mid-1700s.[23] These levels are much higher than at any time during the last 650,000 years, the period for which reliable data has been extracted from ice cores.[24] Less direct geological evidence indicates that CO2 values this high were last seen about 20 million years ago.[25] Fossil fuel burning has produced about three-quarters of the increase in CO2 from human activity over the past 20 years. Most of the rest is due to land-use change, particularly deforestation.[26]

CO2 concentrations are continuing to rise due to burning of fossil fuels and land-use change. The future rate of rise will depend on uncertain economic, sociological, technological, and natural developments. Accordingly, the IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios gives a wide range of future CO2 scenarios, ranging from 541 to 970 ppm by the year 2100.[27] Fossil fuel reserves are sufficient to reach these levels and continue emissions past 2100 if coal, tar sands or methane clathrates are extensively exploited.[28]

The destruction of stratospheric ozone by chlorofluorocarbons is sometimes mentioned in relation to global warming. mp3 indir usdown.net watchfootballlive.org watchnflfootballlive.net watchfootballlive.org nflfootballonline.org nflfootballonline.net nflfootballlive.net Although there are a few areas of linkage, the relationship between the two is not strong. Reduction of stratospheric ozone has a cooling influence, but substantial ozone depletion did not occur until the late 1970s.[29] Tropospheric ozone contributes to surface warming

July 27, 2009, 9:14AM
Ester Says

AND WHO PREDICTED THIS LAST WEEK IN HER BLOG??? ME!!! I said after wreckin NBC primetime with his OWN shows from his OWN production company. ..he would get hired for another lucrative position...and there ya have it!

Onyl Hollywood Rewards failure...

smooches,
Ester

Views From A Broad: "Hollywood 'smost loved and funny ass Blog"
http://estergoldberg.com

July 27, 2009, 8:22AM
Dillerkiller Says

Now THIS is the kind of incisive reporting we've come to expect from The Wrap!