When Ben Silverman joined NBC two years ago, he inherited a last-place network torn apart by internal squabbling, weak morale and no clear sense of identity.
He's leaving things pretty much the way he found them.
The biggest difference between 2007 and 2009: NBC has a lot more company in the panic room.
"It's just a really bad time for all of us," one network chief told TheWrap. "We're all trying to figure it out."
And yet, because NBC has been fourth place for so long, it's become the poster child for what's wrong with network TV.
Silverman's exit is unlikely to change that. It does, however, provide (another) fresh start for the Peacock -- and plenty of unanswered questions:
Will Jeff Gaspin be able to end the culture of backstabbing and political positioning that's preoccupied NBC for nearly a decade?
Well before Silverman arrived, NBC was widely regarded as the most politically chaotic of the broadcast nets. Former Peacock entertainment chief Kevin Reilly, for example, was never able to get a toehold at the network because he just couldn't figure out how to win the respect of the various factions inside NBC.
Part of the problem has been the lack of a strong leader at NBC Entertainment.
Zucker has given Marc Graboff president and chairman titles, but not a clear mandate to run the division as he sees fit.
With NBC Universal's cable division humming along nicely, Gaspin certainly has the time to focus on NBC Entertainment. But he's just as likely to empower Graboff and NBC Entertainment/Universal Media Studios chief Angela Bromstad to act more independently than they have been able to in the past.
The biggest challenge for Gaspin will be convincing Zucker to resist the urge to meddle in the daily management of NBC Entertainment.
Can NBC repair the damage done to its relationships with the creative community?
Writers, producers and agents have done little to hide their distaste for how NBC has treated them in recent years. When the network (rightly) pulled the plug on "My Name is Earl," creator Greg Garcia didn't hesitate to slam the Peacock.
"It’s hard to be too upset about being thrown off the Titanic," he told the Los Angeles Times.
In a town where most people are afraid of making even slightly controversial statements on the record for fear of alienating a potential buyer/seller, Garcia's slam spoke to just how much respect NBC has lost in recent years.
Zucker's thinly-veiled distaste for Hollywood culture has been a big factor in the cold war between NBC and creatives. But Silverman, despite a rep as a consummate schmoozer, seemed to go out of his way to annoy potential partners.
During the the writers' strike, he complained that the writers were the "nerdiest, ugliest, meanest kids" in the high school that is Hollywood.
And the decision to strip Jay Leno five nights a week at 10 p.m.
