With New Role, NBCU Hoping Donna Langley Can Extend Her Knack For Original Movie Blockbusters To TV

deadline.com:

The news Thursday about Universal Filmed Entertainment Group chairman Donna Langley’s ascent to bring TV content under her domain doesn’t just speak to the greater NBCUniversal plan to have a more unified strategy across theatrical, TV and streaming.

It’s also a testament to NBCU realizing and relishing the risk-taking, creative-friendly asset the company has in Langley. There was talk following NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell’s exit over sexual harassment claims that Langley would inherit the post given her billion-dollar-grossing track record at the film studio and as a level-headed balancer of scales in negotiations.

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts gave those interim duties to Comcast president Mike Cavanagh, but that wasn’t a means to sideline Langley. RELATED: Comcast President Mike Cavanagh Makes His Mark As NBCUniversal Chief With Exec Reorg, Donna Langley’s Dual Film-TV Role While brass tacks oversee of news, sports and sundry NBCU ops are not her thing, Langley’s superpowers lie in building iconoclastic and franchise-creative content, strategizing and making it work financially.

In her new role as Chairman, NBCUniversal Studio Group and Chief Content Officer, Langley will have a 30,000-foot view of content creation across the conglom as she expands her creative-team portfolio to include Universal Television, Universal Content Productions, Universal Television Alternative Studios and Universal International Studios (she already presides over the Filmed Entertainment Group which counts Universal Pictures, Focus Features and DreamWorks Animation).