NBCUniversal content distribution chairman Matt Bond is set to retire after over 20 years with the media giant and its parent company Comcast.
“In the spirit of leaving on a high note, I have decided that it is the right time professionally and personally for me to retire,” Bond wrote in a memo to staff on Wednesday. “However, the company has asked me to serve in an advisory role for the next few years, and I have agreed to do so.”
His departure comes as Comcast plans to spin off its cable network portfolio into a separate, publicly traded company. The move, which will be tax-free to Comcast shareholders, is expected to take about a year to complete.
Bond and content distribution president Matt Schnaars will be “working through a transition,” and will work closely with incoming NBCUniversal Media Group chairman Matt Strauss on how the team will fit into the division’s new structure.
In his current role, Bond has been responsible for overseeing distribution agreements for all NBCUniversal content by multi-channel video providers and new media distributors, including its linear cable and broadcast networks, owned station signals and TV Everywhere, video on demand film and television products. His team has recently secured agreements with Cox, Time Warner Cable, DirecTV, Dish Network, Cablevision, Mediacom, Suddenlink and Verizon.
He also spearheaded the distribution of the Sochi Olympics that resulted in over 242 million media exposures across NBCUniversal’s broadcast, cable and digital properties. Bond and his team oversaw the negotiations with more than 225 distributors and are credited with making the games available to the nation’s more than 100 million cable, satellite and telco customers, who were able to access more than 1,000 hours of live-streaming content.
Prior to NBCU, Bond served as executive vice president of content acquisition for Comcast Cable, where he oversaw the strategic direction of its content portfolio, including all programming agreement negotiations for Comcast’s cable systems. He also led content acquisition for new media rights and strategic multiplatform initiatives, including On Demand Online, and oversaw the launch of XfinityTV.com.
He also served as executive vice president of distribution for Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network, executive vice president of programming for AT&T Broadband and president of AT&T subsidiary Satellite Services Inc, and programming EVP for Telecommunications Inc. prior to its merger with AT&T.
Read Bond’s full memo, below:
Hi everyone,
Happy New Year.
First, I want to congratulate you all for your work in this epic deal cycle through 2023 and 2024. These 17 deals were accomplished at a pivotal moment for NBCUniversal, spanning the intersection of streaming and linear cable and the creation of new packaging paradigms. We exceeded all our financial objectives while leaving flexibility for the growth of Peacock. As we’ve done every year for the last 13 years, we achieved this without a single distribution dislocation. NBCUniversal has never been in better condition with respect to distribution.
In the spirit of leaving on a high note, I have decided that it is the right time professionally and personally for me to retire. However, the company has asked me to serve in an advisory role for the next few years, and I have agreed to do so. As many of you know, I have been considering this for a long time, weighing my own personal challenges. But, as Lisa always told me, “You always want to leave just as the party is getting good.”
Matt Schnaars and I will be working through a transition, and we are working closely with Matt Strauss on how our team will fit into the new Media Group structure. As we work through those details, we will certainly share them with you.
I could not be more grateful and honored to have been part of the Comcast NBCUniversal family for over 20 years. Once I came to Comcast in 2002, I never once looked for another job. Comcast is a wonderful family that cares about all its people, and that attitude starts with Brian and goes through the whole organization. The company has always treated me better than I expected or deserved.
I also feel blessed to have worked with all of you – the smartest and most capable people in the industry. Together with many of you, we’ve seen many changes in the television business, and we will see many more. But people love the content we produce, and the future looks exceptionally bright as new technologies expand the reach of our content. Through all of this, our team has remained nimble and found ways to navigate this change in a way that added value to NBCU, building a truly unparalleled reputation for success amongst our industry peers in the process. And I know this work doesn’t come easy – it’s the result of thousands of hours of late nights, often over weekends and holidays.
I couldn’t be prouder of the work that everyone has done over the last decade. It truly is a remarkable accomplishment. We have a small team, every one of whom is crucial to success of the whole. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, it’s not often so many owe so much to so few.
I won’t be going far and look forward to continuing to work with you all in my new capacity.
Thank you for everything.
Matt
