Bravo Media president Frances Berwick is adding oversight of sister female-targeted network Oxygen in a management restructuring, announced NBCUniversal Cable Group Entertainment Chairman Bonnie Hammer Monday in an internal memo obtained by B&C.
Current Oxygen president Jason Klarman will leave the company after leading the network since 2010, an NBCU spokesperson confirmed.
Jeff Wachtel, who had been co-president of USA Network, will assume the new role of president and chief content officer, NBCU Cable Entertainment, where he will work with the presidents and development teams at each network. "Jeff's development track record at USA is the envy of the TV business, so it makes sense to maximize his original programming expertise and business savvy by extending his purview across the entire portfolio," Hammer said in the memo.
Wachtel will also take oversight of Universal Cable Productions and Wilshire Studios, working with Steve Dolmaschio, who will become chief operating officer of both. Chris McCumber will become sole president of the No. 1 cable network after being co-president since 2011.
Berwick, Wachtel and McCumber will continue to report to Hammer, who took control of NBCU's entire cable portfolio, including Bravo, Oxygen and Style, in February.
With the news Monday that Style would rebrand as Esquire Network on Sept. 23, Style Media president Salaam Coleman Smith will assist with the transition while the company looks for another placement for her, with Hammer saying the executive "will play an integral role... at NBCUniversal in the future."
