Comcast is putting Xfinity cable products chief Matt Strauss in charge of its upcoming direct-to-consumer streaming play, Peacock.
In the management shakeup, Bonnie Hammer, who has until now overseen the project, will manage all broadcast and cable studio operations. George Cheeks, who spent the last year as co-chair of the NBC Entertainment broadcast division, will move to a new role under Hammer, serving as chairman of NBCUniversal Content Studios.
Paul Telegdy, who co-chaired NBC Entertainment with Cheeks, will now be the chairman.
The news was initially reported by Variety yesterday ahead of NBCUniversal releasing the changes.
Strauss, who has spent the last 15 years at Comcast Cable, most recently as executive VP of Xfinity Services, will now be in charge of a streaming service that is set to launch next April, with more than 15,000 hours of content from NBCU’s television programming apparatus, as well as feature film units Universal Pictures, Focus Features, DreamWorks Animation and Illumination.
As a key architect of Comcast’s X1 video platform, Strauss is well versed in the current OTT market and the habits of next-generation video consumers. In terms of bench strength, Comcast Cable hired head of consumer services, Dana Strong, from Virgin Media early last year.
