Brian Roberts will keep his Comcast corner office for at least one more year.
The parent company of NBCUniversal has extended the chairman and chief executive officer’s employment agreement through June 30, 2017. The seemingly short 12-month deal is normal fare for Roberts and Comcast — he’s signed the same extension each of the most recent couple of years.
Comcast’s NBCU recently purchased Jeffrey Katzenberg‘s DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion. Should the deal go through the requisite regulatory oversight — which is expected to happen later this year — DWA will become part of the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, which includes Universal Pictures, Fandango and NBCUniversal Brand Development.
The acquisition gives NBCUniversal control of DreamWorks Animation’s film franchise properties like “Shrek,” “Madagascar,” “Kung Fu Panda” and “How to Train Your Dragon.” Those properties will bolster Universal’s already successful push into animation with Chris Meledandri’s Illumination Entertainment, which is responsible for the “Despicable Me” franchise.
It also includes a TV operation with hundreds of hours of original, animated content distributed across linear and SVOD platforms in more than 130 countries.
Additionally, it comes with DreamWorks Classics, a large library of classic characters. From that arm, “Where’s Waldo” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” will become part of the NBCUniversal portfolio, along with its robust consumer products business.