Bonnie Hammer, vice chair of NBCUniversal, and Jen Psaki, MSNBC host, read from their new books at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan Wednesday, May 8. Hammer’s book is 15 Lies Women Are Told At Work … and the Truth We Need to Succeed, and Psaki’s book is the memoir Say More: Lessons From Work, The White House, and the World. 

They are separate events. Hammer sits with Julianna Margulies for a conversation in Buttenwieser Hall at 7:30 p.m. Psaki speaks with Lawrence O’Donnell in Kaufmann Concert Hall at 7:30 p.m. 

Hammer’s book shares stories and lessons from her long career in television. “Having risen from an entry-level production assistant whose chief charge was a dog, to a transformative, top executive at NBCUniversal, Bonnie challenges conventional workplace wisdom and shares the uncommon sense women need to succeed,” goes the description from publisher Simon & Schuster. 

Before she became vice chair of NBCUniversal, Hammer was chairman of the Universal Studio Group. Before that, she was chairman, direct-to-consumer and digital enterprises at NBCU, overseeing the creation of Peacock. 

Earlier in her career, Hammer oversaw the cable channels at NBCU. 

Margulies was in the cast of The Good Wife and is on The Morning Show. She was previously on The Sopranos. 

Psaki hosts Inside with Jen Psaki on MSNBC Sundays at noon and Mondays at 8 p.m. Before coming to MSNBC in 2022, she was White House press secretary for President Joe Biden, and before that was deputy press secretary for former President Barack Obama.

O’Donnell hosts The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell weeknights on MSNBC. 

Both events can be viewed online as well as in person. 

Nearly a decade after its ostensible sunset, USA Network’s “Characters Welcome” era is having another moment. 

Following the summer domestic ratings sensation created over the summer by breezy legal drama Suits, two more old USA Network shows, comedic drama Royal Pains and the show that first established the entire USA Network branding ethos, Tony Shalhoub’s “defective detective” comedy-drama Monk, have also found subscription streaming audiences.

Also read: ‘Suits’ a Massive Summer Hit? In a Global Streaming Business, Not So Much

In Nielsen’s most recent U.S. SVOD rankings (which cover Feb. 12-18), Suits, Royal Pains and Monk hold three of the 10 spots on the list. 

The domestic streaming success of Suits has come with ubiquitous distribution — not only has it drawn large U.S. viewership on Netflix, where its brand lens fits rather perfectly, but it’s also streamable on Peacock. 

Also read: NBC Lawyers Up With Another Reboot, Makes Pilot Order for ‘Suits: L.A.’

For its part, Monk can be streamed on Netflix, Peacock and Amazon Prime Video. Peacock's recent return to the scene, Mister Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie, might also be aiding the Monk cause.

All three series ran during the vaunted era of USA Network’s “Characters Wanted” marketing campaign, which was initiated in 2005 under network president Bonnie Hammer, with Monk and its multi-time Emmy-winning star, Shalhoub, pioneering an ethos of quirky, character-driven comedic dramas, entertaining enough yet not requiring huge commitments from viewers. 

Other USA Network shows from that era, including Psych and In Plain Sight, have generated buzz on Netflix before leaving the platform. 

The broader resurgence of older titles on Netflix ties to a current retrograde trend of studio suppliers, including NBCUniversal, once again aggressively licensing their content to the streaming giant to generate cash. 

More specifically, USA Network shows seem to travel quite well within the algorithmic transoms of Netflix's viewer recommendation engine. 

NBCUniversal, continuing to make organizational changes under new CEO Jeff Shell, said it promoted Pearlena Igbokwe as chairman of its Universal Studio Group, heading its TV production business.

Igbokwe, who had been president of Universal Television, one of NBCU TV studios, succeeds Bonnie Hammer. Hammer, an NBCU veteran becomes vice chairman. 

Both women report directly to Shell.

Since succeeding Steve Burke  earlier this year Burke put NBCU’s TV and streaming businesses under Mark Lazarus. Its head of entertainment, Paul Telegdy left last month amid complaints he created a hostile work environment.

There have also been reports that Susan Rovner, who is leaving her post as president of Warner Bros. Television, will join NBCU in a new job overseeing programming for NBC’s networks and Peacock reporting to Lazarus. NBCU declined to comment on those reports.

“This is an exciting time for our business, with demand for entertainment content at an all-time high and more distribution platforms available than ever before. Our television studios are key growth engines for the company, and Pearlena is ideally suited to lead them. She has extraordinary taste and is well-respected within NBCU, and throughout the global creative community,” said Shell.

Dawn Olmstead, president of UCP, and Jeff Wachtel, President of NBCUniversal International Studios, will now report directly to Igbokwe.

Some of the programs under Igbokwe’s purview include the critically comedies Russian Doll, The Good Place, Superstore, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Little America, dramas Good Girls and New Amsterdam, and Dick Wolf’s new FBI and FBI: Most Wanted.

Before joining NBCU, Igbokwe worked at Showtime for 20 years.

Shell said Hammer would serve as an adviser to him.

“Her deep industry experience, impeccable creative instincts and 25-plus years of prosocial advocacy will be immensely valuable to me and our company,” Shell said.

“Over the course of my career at NBCUniversal, I have been fortunate to touch every aspect of the television business and I am ready to take on this new corporate role. It is the perfect next chapter and I am delighted to pass the baton to Pearlena,” said Hammer. “She has a long track record of success and is the ideal person to take the helm of the studio group.”  

NBC Universal is placing its biggest cable networks USA and Syfy under one roof in a major restructuring move.

USA, Syfy, Chiller and Cloo will now reside under the new Entertainment Networks group, which will be headed by USA president Chris McCumber, who will become President, Entertainment Networks, according to NBCU.

Syfy president Dave Howe will be leaving the network to become president of strategy and commercial growth for NBCU while USA network executive vice president of original scripted programming Bill McGoldrick will become executive vice president of scripted content for the portfolio, including USA, Syfy, E! and Bravo, according to NBCU.

The move, spearheaded by NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Chairman Bonnie Hammer, is an extension of the company’s 2014 packaging of Bravo, E!, Esquire Network and Oxygen within the Lifestyle Networks group led by Frances Berwick, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. The new changes also add pre-schooler channel Sprout to the Lifestyle Networks mix.

Below is Hammer’s internal memo announcing the restructuring:

In this rapidly changing media environment, the biggest challenge is not only adapting to change, but staying one step ahead of it. That means continuing to re-think our playbook and developing a business model that’s as creative as it is effective, inventive as it is productive.

The disruption today is so constant and so fast-moving that it calls for a fresh approach that will transform the way we conduct our business. With that in mind, I’m writing to tell you about organizational changes that will help us to look beyond linear and uniquely position us for future success.

In a significant new role for Cable Entertainment, Dave Howe will become President, Strategy and Commercial Growth. It’s an important position whose time has come, reflecting the need for a consolidated approach to a complex media landscape. Throughout his tenure as President of Syfy, Dave has always had his eye on the big picture as he helped grow the network well beyond niche status. In his new role, he will partner with me on the kind of forward-thinking planning that will inform our future strategy. He will bridge creative and business, exploring opportunities across the portfolio, experimenting with new business models, platforms and technologies. He will focus on overall growth of the portfolio – both domestically and internationally – overseeing Business Development and Business Affairs. He will serve as the portfolio’s primary liaison with our ad sales, distribution and international partners and manage Symphony for our networks. He will also identify and manage business relationships with media partners such as BuzzFeed and Vox. Dave will divide his time between New York and LA.

A little over a year ago we formed the Lifestyle Networks group led by Frances Berwick, a re-structuring that more accurately represents how we take our networks to market. Using that same approach, we are now creating the Entertainment Networks group – consisting of USA, Syfy, Chiller and Cloo – headed by Chris McCumber, who will become President, Entertainment Networks. Chris has a proven track record for unlocking and maximizing the potential of a media brand. In his new role, he will be charged with streamlining processes that will maximize both creativity and efficiency at the networks. Among Chris’ direct reports are four executives who will assume responsibility for the Entertainment group in their respective areas: Alexandra Shapiro, EVP, Marketing; Rob Spodek, CFO; Katherine Nelson, SVP, Communications; and David Giles, SVP, Research, who was most recently at Viacom.

As we all know, strong content is at the heart of our business. Content we own or co-own is key to success and long-term profitability. Building upon the strategy that began with Jeff Wachtel being named President, Chief Content Officer and Head of Studios, we will now centralize all original scripted programming, allowing us to function nimbly and without redundancy. Bill McGoldrick will become EVP, Scripted Content for the portfolio, including USA, Syfy, E! and Bravo. Over the years at both USA and Syfy, Bill has demonstrated incredible savvy and a terrific instinct for the kind of original programming that generates not only buzz, but profitability. Bill will work closely with the network presidents and report to Jeff as he continues to bring his magic touch to scripted content across all our networks. Bill will also become a member of my leadership team.

The marketing of our original programming is also crucial to the success of our business. Our marketing teams need to be structured in a way that ensures we maintain our creative and competitive edge. So, in an effort to enhance production consistencies in marketing throughout the portfolio, Sandra Schron will become SVP, Marketing Production, Cable Entertainment. In this new role she will be charged with centralizing systems and practices, as well as streamlining operations for all marketing production across our networks. Sandra will report to the marketing heads in our Entertainment and Lifestyle groups.

Additionally, members of our marketing teams dedicated to supporting ad sales and who are currently embedded in our networks, will transition to Linda Yaccarino’s ad sales marketing team.

Finally, in a move that reflects the way it’s offered to the marketplace, Sprout will join Bravo, E!, Oxygen and Esquire Network under the Lifestyle Networks banner, reporting to Frances Berwick. Targeting moms and kids, Sprout is a natural demographic complement to these other Lifestyle networks.

Change is always challenging, but especially necessary in a time of disruption. I’m confident that this re-alignment…involving key executives who I truly believe are the best in the business…will enable us to more nimbly meet the challenges that confront us daily on just about every front.

As always, I’m grateful for your continued support. Please join me in congratulating everyone on their well-deserved new positions.

NBCUniversal has restructured its cable portfolio, expanding the purview of Frances Berwick as the overseer of the newly formed lifestyle network group.

In her new position as president of the group, Berwick will add strategic oversight of E! Entertainment and Esquire Network to her current duties at Bravo and Oxygen Media. She will  continue to report to NBCU Cable Entertainment chairman Bonnie Hammer, who announced the reorganization that more closely aligns the lifestyle services with the way they are positioned in the marketplace.

As part of the changes, Suzanne Kolb is exiting her position as president of E!, ending a nine-year run with the entertainment service, including the last three at its helm. Adam Stotsky, president of Esquire Network, which was converted from Style in September 2013, also has been named general manager of E! and will report directly to Berwick in both capacities.

Berwick was appointed president of Bravo and Oxygen Media in September 2013 spearheading strategy and operations for both brands. She was named president of Bravo, which she joined in 1996, in 2010. Under her tutelage, it has become a top 10 cable network with over 550 hours of year-round original programming that reaches one of the most affluent audiences in television.

Over the years, she has overseen breakout original programming, including the popular “Real Housewives” franchise, Watch What Happens Live! and Emmy winners Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and Top Chef. Most recently, Berwick has the network poised to enter the scripted realm, with its first entry Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce slated to debut in December, to be followed by the half-hour scripted comedy Odd Mom Out next year. 

In 2013, Berwick's role was expanded to include Oxygen Media where she is currently overseeing the network's rebrand, targeting young, multicultural women and scheduled to launch across all platforms on Oct. 7.

“In a crowded, constantly evolving media landscape, it’s more important than ever to have a business structure that not only delivers results today, but also sets a course with the right leadership for future success,” said Hammer. “Frances is that rare individual whose creative instincts are as finely tuned as her business savvy. Her impressive track record is all about identifying compelling, innovative content. It’s part of her DNA, and it will be an invaluable asset in this new role and in maximizing E!’s tremendous brand potential.”

At E!, Berwick will be directly responsible for original programming and development aimed at buttressing viewership, strengthening the channel’s competitive positioning and extending its worldwide reputation as the multiplatform destination for all things entertainment.  

“I’ve been a huge longtime fan of E! from afar, so I’m really excited to now be part of the team,” said Berwick. “I have enormous respect for the brand leadership position they've built in entertainment news and celebrity culture.”

In his new role as general manager at E!, Stotsky gains oversight of daily operations, notably news, digital, marketing, communications, research and acquisitions. He will continue his duties as president, Esquire Network, with direct oversight of all areas of the network.   

“As a colleague of Adam’s for years, I’ve been impressed by his leadership skills and his ability to envision and define brands, from Syfy to NBC to Esquire,” said Berwick.  "The distinctive brand and impressive slate that he and his team at Esquire Network have built in a short period of time is remarkable. I look forward to working even closer together as we take E! to new heights."