Ted Harbert on Leaving NBC: 'It's Time to Go Do Something Else'

Ted Harbert says that for the first time in 40 years, he doesn’t know what he’s going to do next.

The longtime TV executive revealed Thursday that he’s going to leave his post as chairman of NBC Broadcasting on Oct. 14. He’s not being formally replaced in his role, which includes oversight of the company’s syndication ad sales, owned-and-operated stations and affiliate relations. Rather, his duties are being split up by five top executives.

In an interview with TheWrap, Harbert said that marking 40 seasons in the TV business signaled time for a change.

Also Read: NBC Broadcasting Chairman Ted Harbert Exits Company

“It’s been on my mind for quite awhile,” Harbert said. “It resonated with me very personally as: It’s time to go do something else.”

“My divisions are running great, and in 2011 when I came here, they weren’t,” he added. “We’ve all done some pretty good work, especially my teams.”

Harbert is one of the most experienced executives in the television business. Prior to his current role, he was president and CEO of Comcast Entertainment Group, overseeing such brands as E!, Style and G4. Before that, he held top roles at NBC Studios and ABC.

Also Read: Edward Harbert II, Former NYT Exec, Father of Ted and Chris Harbert, Dies at 88

“It was great of [Comcast boss] Steve Burke to bring me back to New York and let me run divisions that I had really never run before,” Harbert said. “I’d done all the West Coast jobs you could do, but I really hadn’t done the East Coast jobs.”

Harbert said he had been pondering his move for months.

“I went to Steve earlier this year and said, ‘I don’t know what I want to do. I don’t know how long I want to keep on working in a network job,'” he said. “He said, ‘OK. Talk to me over the course of the summer.'” Harbert decided on an exit around the time of the Rio Olympics, he said, which NBC telecast.

Also Read: NBCUniversal to Cut 200 DreamWorks Animation Jobs

Meanwhile, he doesn’t leave with any idea what he might do next. And that, Harbert said, was deliberate.

“I haven’t made one phone call to anyone about future employment, and I don’t know when I’m going to do that,” he said. “I’m gonna be here for the next month, and it’s gonna be business as usual for the next month. And then I’m gonna go take my wife on a trip and we’ll see. I don’t know if it’s a job, I don’t know if it’s teaching, or raking the sand traps on a golf course, which I did do when I was 15 years old.”

He added: “I don’t think my wife wants me at home all day, but she may have to live with that for a while.”

10 Shows Featuring Ex-'Friends' Stars Ranked: From 'Feed the Beast' to 'Cougar Town' (Photos)

The six stars of NBC's '90s sitcom smash have had a mixed record with TV follow-ups
1. Matt LeBlanc/"Episodes"
Probably the most successful of the TV offerings from an ex-"Friend," LeBlanc played a clueless Hollywood actor in this show-biz satire that ran for four seasons on Showtime.
Showtime
2. Courteney Cox/"Cougar Town"
This one was a sleeper. Critics at first hated the concept and title, which seemed to promise Cox as an older woman on the prowl. But it slowly grew into a sly comedy (first on ABC then TBS) about middle-aged suburbanites who drink and gossip far too much.
ABC
3. Matthew Perry/"Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip"
The critics generally liked it, as they do much of the output of writer-producer Aaron Sorkin. But this satire of a "Saturday Night Live"-style variety show might have been a bit too insider-y for network TV, prompting its quick demise. NBC gave it a single season in 2006-07.
NBC
4. Matthew Perry/"The Odd Couple"
It helps to base a sitcom on a classic Neil Simon play, which then became a movie and a long-running 1970s TV comedy. On CBS' version, Perry returns as Oscar Madison, the lovable slob who moves in with a fussy fellow bachelor.
CBS
5. Lisa Kudrow/"The Comeback"
Like "Episodes," this show was a "meta" Hollywood satire, with Kudrow playing an aging sitcom queen trying to hang on to her relevance. HBO tried it in 2005 and revived the show in 2014, but most critics found it more cringe-inducing than funny.
HBO
6. Matthew Perry/"Go On"
Perry in yet another sports comedy. Here he was a sportscaster who attends grief counseling following the death of his wife. Perhaps a bit too dark for a network comedy, "Go On" struggled to find the right tone and aired for just one season on NBC in 2012.
NBC
7. Lisa Kudrow/"Web Therapy"
Showtime got four seasons out of this one, with Kudrow playing a therapist dispensing treatment in webcam sessions. "Generally inert," opined one critic.
Showtime
8. Matt LeBlanc/"Joey"
How you doin'? Not so good in this 2004 sitcom that tried to spin off LeBlanc's character into his own vehicle. Two seasons and it was done.
9. Matthew Perry/"Mr. Sunshine"
Fumble! This comedy with Perry as a beleaguered sports-arena manager aired just nine episodes in 2011 before ABC benched it for good.
ABC
10. David Schwimmer/"Feed the Beast"
Give Schwimmer points for being different. The guy who played smart, socially clumsy Ross is back as a budding restaurateur in this AMC drama, but be warned, critics have not been kind: "A mess," one wrote.
AMC
Jennifer Aniston
Well, she's not on the TV list, because after "Friends," the woman who played Rachel has focused on her film career, with starring roles in "Mother's Day," "Cake," and "Horrible Bosses," to name a few.