This archive report was first published on 6 August 2020.
August 6, 2020: NBCUniversal, the media giant owned by Comcast, has pushed out the leader of its network entertainment group amid a pending investigation into claims of workplace harassment.
The company announced on Thursday that Paul Telegdy, the chairman of NBC Entertainment, would be leaving the company. Telegdy, a longtime television executive, was about to be investigated by outside counsel hired by NBCUniversal after accusations from several Hollywood stars, including actress Gabrielle Union, that he fostered a toxic work environment.
Union was a judge on the NBC prime-time hit “America’s Got Talent.” She was ousted from the show in 2019 after she alleged instances of racist and otherwise offensive behavior on the set. In June, Union filed a harassment complaint with California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing against NBCUniversal and the show’s producers.
Telegdy, a former BBC executive, was made sole chairman of NBC Entertainment in October after a series of executive departures, putting him in charge of NBC’s prime-time lineup. Earlier, he was responsible for the network’s reality programming and oversaw franchises like “The Voice” and “American Ninja Warrior,” in addition to “America’s Got Talent.”
Telegdy’s departure comes as Hollywood and the broader media industry has started to face a reckoning over entrenched racism and gender discrimination on studio lots and in network boardrooms. The leadership of NBCUniversal and Comcast is composed mostly of white men, as at many other media conglomerates.
After Union lodged complaints against the network, Telegdy warned her agent that she “should be careful of who she called racist,” according to her filing with the state agency. The Hollywood Reporter chronicled several instances of Telegdy’s alleged behavior in a July 31 article that prompted NBCUniversal to conduct its investigation.
Separately, the company announced on Thursday a sweeping change to its leadership ranks across its NBC properties and cable networks. The company consolidated its various networks by breaking down each unit, with each channel now overseen by Frances Berwick, who will be responsible for the business of NBC Entertainment and the cable entertainment networks.
