NBC Says West Coast Entertainment President Graboff to Exit

Marc Graboff, president of west coast business operations for NBC Entertainment, is leaving the company after 11 years, continuing the network’s leadership transition under new owner Comcast Corp. (CMCSA)

Graboff, who oversaw business and production-related operations for NBC and Universal Media Studios, is departing amicably, Bob Greenblatt, NBC Entertainment chairman, told employees in an e-mail today. A time-frame and replacement haven’t been decided, he wrote.

NBC Entertainment was placed under the leadership of former Showtime executive Greenblatt after Comcast took control of parent NBC Universal in January. Graboff, 55, isn’t going to another network and decided to depart now because the transition is complete, a network spokesman said.

“While I personally would have loved him to stay with us for this new phase of NBC, I know firsthand that feeling when it’s time to make a change in one’s career,” Greenblatt wrote.

Graboff declined to comment. When General Electric Co. (GE) controlled NBC Universal, he was co-chairman and later chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios, paired with programming heads Ben Silverman and Jeff Gaspin.

“Mark is one of the most beloved and respected executives in televison today,” Gaspin, who left in January, said in an e- mail.

Comcast, the largest U.S. cable-TV company, rose 0.9 percent to $21.43 at the close in New York today. Shares of the Philadelphia-based company have declined 2.5 percent this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Andy Fixmer in Los Angeles at afixmer@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net