Two Named As Co-Chairs Of NBC Entertainment

Two veteran NBC executives, George Cheeks and Paul Telegdy, were named cochairmen of NBC Entertainment on Monday, replacing Bob Greenblatt at a time of upheaval in network television.

George Cheeks

According to The L-A Times, Greenblatt, who had been NBC's top programmer for nearly eight years, approached his boss, NBCUniversal chief executive Steve Burke, about two weeks ago and said he no longer wanted the job. The two finalized Greenblatt's exit over the weekend, and Burke swiftly installed new leadership at the Los Angeles unit, which includes the NBC network and Universal Television production studio.

"These are extremely challenging jobs, and there is a natural fatigue that sets in," Burke told the Los Angeles Times. "If you are not 100 percent ready for the challenge, then it is time to think about doing something else."

Paul Telegdy

NBC's changing of the guard came on the first day of the new TV season and as management of all four major TV networks is in flux. Ben Sherwood is stepping down as Disney/ABC Television Group president as soon as the Walt Disney Co. completes its $71.3 billion acquisition of much of 21st Century Fox, according to two people familiar with the situation. Disney plans to officially announce that it is bringing over two Fox executives, Peter Rice and Dana Walden, to run ABC television, which will leave a gap at Fox.

The broadcast business is vexed by declining ratings and increased competition for viewers' attention from video streaming services. Netflix, Amazon.com, and other deep-pocketed rivals have been assembling an arsenal of shows and wooing A-list show runners with lucrative contracts and promises of creative freedom without the pressure of having to produce giant ratings.

Neither Cheeks nor Telegdy is a household name, but they are familiar to Hollywood's talent agents and television producers as well as NBC's nearly 850-person workforce.