The senior management team of the new Barry Diller-led USA Networks Inc., comprising most of Universal's TV assets, is taking shape with the appointment of U TV vet Steve Rosenberg as president of its domestic syndication arm.
Rosenberg's ascension from exec VP to prexy of domestic distribution had been expected (Daily Variety, Nov. 24). He will report to Greg Meidel, currently president of the U TV Group, who will oversee all TV development, production and sales for the new USA Networks Inc.
Rosenberg joined U as a syndie sales exec in its Northeast office in 1986, rising to VP and senior veepee before he was named exec VP of distribution in July 1996.
Rosenberg's appointment comes as the Universal-USA Networks crew prepares for the first public display of its soon-to-be-merged operations at next week's National Assn. of TV Program Executives syndie sales confab in New Orleans.
Diller's HSN Inc. surprised the TV biz in October with a complex $4 billion buyout of most of Universal's TV assets. In other NATPE-related U TV news, the company has tapped veteran news and talkshow producer Tamara Haddad as exec producer of its upcoming talkshow with Maury Povich. Povich has spent the past seven years hosting a syndie talkshow for Paramount, but last year he signed a rich new deal with Universal that begins this fall. Haddad's credits include eight years as senior exec producer of CNN's "Larry King Live," as well as stints as a senior producer for NBC's "Today" and CBS' "The Late, Late Show With Tom Snyder." Haddad most recently served as exec producer for Fox News Channel's Washington, D.C., bureau.
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