NBC Universal's Jeff Gaspin: Passion and Brand Vision Drive Success

It39s not surprising that Jeff Gaspin NBC Universal39s president of Cable and Digital Content is partial to reality TV The programming executive responsible for NBC39s The Apprentice and Deal or No Deal Bravo39s Queer Eye for the Straight Guy VH139s Behind the Music and partially responsible for Bravo39s Project Runway began his programming career with I Witness Video an NBC special that captured top ratings in 1992 and was the forerunner of reality TV user generated video clip shows and docureality programming like Cops quotIt was my first 39holy shit39 momentquot Gaspin exclaimed during our Upfront Week Lunch at Michael39s surrounded by industry notables including SNL creator Lorne Michaels Universal Studios president Ron Meyer Hallmark Channel39s Henry Schleiff Sony39s Steve Mosko and Late Show bandleader Paul ShafferquotWe packaged America39s most dramatic home videos as a special and went head on Sunday at 8 PM against the Winter Olympics Fox39 In Living Color and America39s Funniest Home Videosquot Gaspin told me quotWe pulled a 26 share in a time slot where NBC had been delivering a ten share The next day I received a bottle of champagne from NBC president Bob Wright GE chairman Jack Welch and NBC News president Michael Gartner It39s incredibly satisfying to hit one out of the parkquot The series ran for two years hosted by John Forsythe and Patrick Van HornJeff39s other three 39out of the park39 moments include the resurgence of VH1 around the Behind the Music series which he developed being invited back to NBC as Executive Vice President Alternative Programming after having left several years earlier and the astounding public response to Bravo39s Queer Eye for the Straight Guy Another quotalmost wow momentquot was when NBC39s madeforTV movie 105 a remake of Earthquake tallied an eight rating to become 200439s top rated TV movieToday Jeff is responsible for overseeing USA Network Bravo Sci Fi Channel Sleuth Chiller and Universal HD channels and digital content He is also involved with NBCU39s new partnership with News Corp to launch a new website later this year that will feature NBC Universal and Fox programming quotYou have to offer viewers alternativesquot Jeff believes quotOur new site will be an entertainment portal and a destination for a variety of contentquot And at NBCcom he has overseen website innovations including full series episodes plus a richer experience for several programs A synchronous director39s commentary now accompanies Heroes episodes at NBCcom allowing fans to watch the same episode again with new elements quotNew network programs are being developed with added elements for broadbandquot he advisesJeff had joined NBC News as a financial planner after graduating from SUNY Binghamton where he met his wife Karen and receiving an MBA at New York University Soon after joining NBC Jeff entered an employee script writing contest developed by NBC programming legend Brandon Tartikoff penning a script for Family Ties and placing second among all entries This captured the attention of NBC News president Michael Gartner and within six months at the age of 28 Jeff was named acting chief financial officer for NBC News Several months later he was elevated to Vice President News Programming where he developed I Witness NewsJeff soon realized quotnews programming is incredibly demanding and unforgiving You are under the gun 247 and you have a real public responsibility You have to have a passion for itquot Growing up in a small house in Queens New York Bayside High class of 1978 watching Land of the Lost Lost in Space The Brady Bunch The Partridge Family Room 222 Marcus Welby MD The Carol Burnett Show All in the Family and The Mary Tyler Moore Show Jeff39s passion and goal was entertainment programming but he was still quotdevastatedquot when NBC News reorganized in 1993 and suggested Jeff quotlook for a different jobquot He39d been at NBC for nine years quotand had never worked anyplace else It was a blow to my egoquot he admits quotbut I learned about corporate politics and it gave me an opportunity to recreate myself as a creative programming executivequotAt MTV Networks VH139s John Sykes was looking for an quotout of the boxquot programming executive to create a new vision for the network and he hired Jeff whose first effort was the smash success Behind the Music A young VH1 programming executive named Lauren Zalaznick was also developing Divas and Pop Up Videos for the network which Jeff green lit Ironically Lauren became president of Bravo where she and Jeff have collaborated on the launch of Project Runway and other series Jeff also works closely with Bonnie Hammer president of Sci Fi and USA Networks which has become the highest rated cable network under their watchJeff spent four years of quotmagical momentsquot at VH1 before being invited to rejoin NBC as VP Programming and Development requiring a move to Los Angeles with Karen and their three children now ages 14 12 and 8 For Jeff the move to LA was more than a career move it reconnected him to the dreams of his grandfather who as a young man aspired to move to Hollywood and become an actor quotHe was a featured player for Paramount when the studio was in New Yorkquot Jeff recalls quotUnder the stage name 39Bill Brent39 he appeared in Marx Brothers39 films and had bit roles in several others But when Paramount moved to the West Coast Jeff39s grandmother wouldn39t move and 39Bill Brent39 opened a hat and western apparel shop in the old Madison Sq Garden He was the most influential man in my life and I39m carrying on his legacyquot Jeff sharesJeff39s oldest son is in his first year of high school and Jeff has mixed feeling about his interest in following his dad39s footsteps into television and show business quotFor my generation growing up in Queens our parents wanted us to follow a career in medicine or law They were the only two choices I39m not discrediting higher educationquot he adds quotbut choosing a major when you39re in high school might not be the best decisionquotJeff has become a student of network programming strategies and acknowledges there are major changes that are uprooting traditional business models and executives quotMore and more broadcast networks are operating like top 10 cable networksquot he believes quotBroadcasting has truly changed Networks can39t try to be broadcasters in the same ways they did 20 years ago They need to find a fairly broad niche can39t try to be all things to all people and have to be passionate about their direction and brandquotquotI love this business and I39m glad I can do it every dayquot Jeff commented over our coffee quotI always loved television I read every word of the TV Guide Fall preview issue each year The business is changing every day but this is a great place to bequotLunch at Michael39s is a registered trademark of Myers Publishing LLC

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NBC Universal's Jeff Gaspin: Passion and Brand Vision Drive Success

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