NBCU Shifting Some Digital Operations From Corporate To Network

The details are still sketchy but NBCU is in the process of moving its Digital Studios operations out of the incubator and into bottom-line land. As part of the corporate group headed by chief digital officer George Kliavkoff, Digital Studios has been producing original web programming, primarily with portals and some marketers, along with programming for NBCU networks such as live webcasts for Bravo’s reality shows. Now, the name “Digital Studios” will disappear, with many of its functions going west to NBC Digital Entertainment headed by Vivi Zigler, where they will be overseen by Cameron Death, the VP-content who just joined NBC from MSN. Death, as I understand it, is charged with creating a new operating business supporting marketers and their agencies with branded content. The new model will be more about outsourcing production, similar to the way the TV studios operate. As for the dozen or so employees affected, some are likely to be part of the new bi-coastal operation and others may wind up elsewhere in NBC. Among the decisions yet to be made: what kind of original web programming will continue to be produced and whether some will be turned over to the networks.