EXCLUSIVE: NBCUniversal’s Television Entertainment Group has undergone layoffs, Deadline has learned. The staff reduction, which I hear impacted under 20 people, is part of the ongoing process of consolidation and restructuring as NBCUniversal is preparing to split into two companies at the end of the year with the Versant spinoff.
Departing as part of the reorganization are several executives, including 23-year NBCU veteran Deepak Jesrani, SVP, Drama Development for NBC Entertainment, who also shepherded drama programming for Peacock as the network and streamer have one consolidated scripted programming team.
Also leaving are two Current Programming executives at Universal Television: VP Brett Osmon and Director Stephanie Rae Capizzo.
Jesrani had been at NBC since 2002. He originally worked for both the drama development and current programming teams before being named VP Drama Development. He was promoted to SVP in 2019. Former Marvel and TV Land executive Osmon has been at Universal TV for four years. Capizzo has been at NBCU for more than eight years, a Universal TV executive for four and a half.
This week’s reductions are a followup to the larger round of layoffs in April related to the spinoff of Versant as a standalone company housing NBCU cable networks such as E!, Syfy, MSNBC and USA Network and the major January restructure that saw Pearlena Igbokwe add oversight of NBC and Peacock scripted programming to her previous duties of leading Universal TV Studios.
The Television Entertainment Group, where the latest layoffs have been located, will remain at NBCUniversal following the split. There has been a string of cuts on the Versant side of the company; the most recent round came yesterday, impacting about 150 staffers at NBC News.