Ben Silverman

Huffington Post Interviews CollegeHumor CEO

Ben Silverman made a good decision when he decided that his multimedia production company should partner with CollegeHumor, which is now the No. 1 comedy website on the Internet and No. 9 on YouTube’s list of most subscribed channels. The company’s new CEO, Paul Greenberg, was recently interviewed by Huffington Post editor Ramon Nuez.  

The video can be seen on the publication’s website, but here are a few highlights about the CollegeHumor’s evolution.

 “When it started, it really was funny pictures, user-generated content, more of an aggregation thing,” Greenberg explained. “Then it evolved into original content, and about six months ago, we entered a new stage where we’re creating series.”

“We’re really able to understand what’s going to work with this type of humor, and this type of demographic that we’re trying to create,” he said. “It helps us create a personality and develop franchises.”

Today, CollegeHumor is still expanding, working alongside Ben Silverman’s Electus, and looking at new platforms, as well as television and film opportunities. After being dreamt up in a college dorm room by two high school friends from Maryland, CollegeHumor was bought by IAC about five years ago, and is currently the most popular websites for males ages 18-34.

Broadcasting & Cable Reaches Out to Ben Silverman

For an article about reality TV shows, big networks and advertising dollars, Broadcasting & Cable’s Andrea Morabito reached out to Ben Silverman, the CEO of multimedia product company Electus. In the article, Morabito discussed how many advertisers are still hesitant to put money toward unscripted programming, even though reality TV has proved it has staying power.

“For all the upfront process, the media buyers still seem to prefer scripted content on broadcast in terms of what they’ll value it as,” Ben Silverman said, who recently sold his unscripted show, “Fashion Star,” to NBC.

According to Silverman and other executives who Morabito interviewed, networks and media buyers both seem to relate high production costs with high quality. She wrote, “This upfront season, expect to see the broadcast networks highlighting their expensive new comedies and dramas as usual, with unscripted fare taking its customary back seat.” Reality TV shows might be drawing in the viewers, but they’re not necessarily drawing in the dollars. Sign up for Broadcasting & Cable to read the full article.

Ben Silverman Sells Reality Show to NBC

 
Details about the reality show Ben Silverman sold to network NBC are finally being released. Silverman developed “Fashion Star” with the success of the Victoria’s Secret lingerie shows in mind, and the fashion reality show will feature a group of aspiring designers competing for the chance to win a contract for their own clothing line. Former supermodel and herself a designer, Elle Macpherson will be hosting the show, following a great run on “Britain’s Next Top Model,” which Macpherson also hosts.

Ben Silverman, onetime a top executive at NBC, is known for his contributions to the network that are still today in production—including “The Office,” “Parks & Recreation,” “The Biggest Loser” and “Friday Night Lights,” among others. Silverman teaming up with NBC once more is a logical career move, as the network is an ideal spot for “Fashion Star.” The prime-time show will start in 2012 and span 10 hour-long episodes.

Ben Silverman Acquires Israeli TV Drama

It should be no surprise that Ben Silverman, who was married to Jennifer Cuoco last year in Israel and has often voiced his enthusiasm about international TV business, has opted to take on an Israeli television show, “Blue Natali.” Silverman serves as the CEO of Electus, his multimedia production company that acquired the rights to the hit drama, which it plans to adapt for the United States, according to Television Business International.

Ben Silverman is the latest to reversion an Israeli show in the States. HBO and Lionsgate recently made a deal for “The Naked Truth,” which is based on an Israeli drama about the investigation surrounding a young girl’s disappearance, and her powerful family. Fox acquired “Mixed Signals,” which is based on “Ramzor,” an Israeli sitcom that revolves around three best friends, all men in different stages of their lives. Check back soon for more details about the U.S. production of "Blue Natali."  

"Friday Night Lights" Fans Prep for Final Season

Call it a cult favorite, if football dramas can be looped into that category. It’s fitting that “Friday Night Lights” fans are as devoted as sports fans, since the show centers around a small Texas town’s high school football team. During his time at NBC, it was Ben Silverman who had a hand in the decision to allow the show to continue running for a fifth season. The first episode of that fifth and final season begins on Friday, April 15.  

Ben Silverman’s choice to extend the show will keep diehard fans happy for some time—until the season ends, at least. What’s in store for the Texas crew? Since the premiere date was announced in early February, blogs have been buzzing with plot projections. Will the cast remain the same? Will the Riggins brothers sort their lives out? Will the Dillion Panthers be victorious once again? Stay tuned.

NBC "Community," "Parks & Rec" and "The Office" Renew

NBC renewed "The Office," "Parks and Recreation" and "Community" for the 2011-12 season last month. "I am so pleased to renew these three outstanding comedies which are all at the top of their game creatively," NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt said in a statement. "Along with '30 Rock,' they represent the best of what the NBC comedy brand stands for in terms of originality, wit, and sophistication."

"The Office" will continue for its eighth season being executive-produced by Ben Silverman, Greg Daniels, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, Howard Klein and Paul Lieberstein. This is the first complete season without star Steve Carell.

Read the complete press release about Ben Silverman - "The Office," "Parks and Recreation" and "Community" at Baltimore Sun.

MIPTV Launches Brand of the Year Award

MIPTV 2011 will present the first Brand of the Year Award on April 5, as part of its two-day Branded Entertainment Summit. The new award will be presented to an international brand for its outstanding contribution to the development and production of brand-related content. A jury made up of leading figures from the production and advertising sectors, including Doug Scott of Ogilvy Entertainment, Ben Silverman of Electus and the director Brett Ratner and Robert Friedman of @radical.media are some of who will help decide the winner. This award underlines MIPTV's recognition of the growing impact of branded entertainment in the global television industry.

Click here to read more about the MIPTV Awards.

The Greatest Movie Ever Sold - Ben Silverman and Noam Chomsky

Many people can't figure out how to make a documentary featuring Noam Chomsky and Ben Silverman, but Morgan Spurlock did. In his new film, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, which premiered a couple of weeks ago, already picked up distribution from Sony Pictures Classics. Spurlock has a meeting set with Chomsky and Silverman to talk about branding.

The film is a documentary-within-a-documentary experiment about marketing and advertising-addled culture, and yet have the sponsors pay for it. Unlike Michael Moore, another controversial documentarian skilled in the art of making average Americans look dumb. Spurlock is a lively, personable guy that you actually want to spend time with. He also doesn’t take himself too seriously.

To read more check out Sundance Channel.

 

The 'Foxification' of British News

If your not familiar with the media mogul Rupert Murdoch, you should take an interest in his business. The 79 year old Australian is the 117th richest person in the world with a net worth of $6.2 billion. The reason for this is because he is the founder, Chairman and CEO of News Corporation, the worlds third largest media conglomerate, behind Disney and Time Warner. The list of assets under News Corp can be found on Wikipedia - As you can see from the list, there probably isn't a newspaper that you've heard of that isn't on it. The scary thing is, Rupert Murdoch likes to have his hand in everything, including politics.

In August 2008, David Cameron accepted free flights through Matthew Freud (Murdoch's son) to attend a series of private parties and meetings on Mr. Murdoch’s yacht. Although Mr. Cameron declared the £30,000 'gift' in the Commons register of interests, he has not disclosed what was said at the meetings. Other people who attended these 'social events' include former Business Secretary and EU Commissioner for Trade Lord Peter Mandelson, Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska and co-chairman of NBC Universal, Ben Silverman.

Click here to read the full article.

EXCLUSIVE: Judge Tentatively Denies Disney Appeal of $319 Million ‘Millionaire’ Verdict

A federal judge has issued a tentative ruling shutting down the Walt Disney Co.’s bid to overturn a $319 million jury verdict over profits from Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

The decision is not final, and lawyers for Disney and Millionaire producer Celador Intl. were in the Riverside courtroom of Judge Virginia A. Phillips on Monday arguing for more than two-and-a-half hours. But Phillips issued a 43-page tentative ruling saying she will likely deny Disney’s request to throw out the July verdict and order a new trial. A final judgment is expected later this week.

If the tentative ruling is upheld, Disney will almost certainly appeal the case to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, setting up another high-profile showdown in the closely-watched 6-year old litigation.

The Millionaire trial made headlines this summer because it shined a rare public light on complex studio accounting procedures and dealmaking in the early days of the reality TV boom. Celador claimed Disney, ABC and their affiliated entities operated a “shell game” when they brought the show to America in 1999, hiding millions of dollars in revenue owed to Celador under a profit-sharing arrangement. The trial featured testimony from Disney CEO Robert Iger and Celador’s Paul Smith, as well as former William Morris agents Greg Lipstone and Ben Silverman, who helped broker deals to bring the show to the U.S.

More from Hollywood Reporter click here.