Former NBC entertainment co-chairman Ben Silverman says he has faith in Bob Greenblatt, the man who holds his former job.
Silverman spoke to the Television Critics Association winter press tour Friday shortly after Greenblatt took the stage to acknowledge that NBC "had a really bad fall." Silverman, who co-chaired NBC Entertainment with Marc Graboff from 2007-09, attended the event to promote his new NBC show, "Fashion Star."
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He said he was happy to bring the show to NBC, where it will share Tuesday nights with "The Biggest Loser," another show he executive produces.
"I am thrilled to be making the show on NBC," he said. "I can't imagine a better time period on television than following 'The Biggest Loser' for the audience we want. And I'm super excited because I think we're incredibly consistent with the scale of 'The Voice' — which is obviously a huge fun show which has elements of talent similar to us — which will air the night before. So I feel incredibly happy and excited. And I'm betting on Bob and I love his creativity and I'm excited to be here as a supplier for this network."
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Silverman was unable to lift NBC from fourth place during his stint as co-chairman, and the network remains there today. He announced in July 2009 that he was leaving NBC to create the new multi-media studio Electus, which is behind "Fashion Star," along with reality production company Magical Elves.
On the show, hosted by Elle MacPherson, designers will compete to win a multi-million-dollar contract to launch their line in retail stores. Viewers will be able to buy the winning designs the day after each episode airs.