Linda Yaccarino’s 11th-Hour Jump To Twitter Gets Shoutouts From NBCUniversal Execs Mark Lazarus And Mark Marshall At Upfront – Update
UPDATED with Mark Marshall comments. Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, and interim ad sales chief Mark Marshall weren’t on the production call sheet until very recently for the company’s upfront at Radio City on Monday morning.
Pressed into action after the stunning, consecutive exits over the past few weeks of CEO Jeff Shell and ad sales and partnerships chief Linda Yaccarino, who left to become CEO of Twitter just last week, Lazarus opened the event with self-effacing humor. Following a song-and-dance sequence featuring Ted, Seth Macfarlane’s bawdy, talking teddy bear, Lazarus asked the crowd, “What was more surprising today? Being welcomed by a foul-mouthed teddy bear or seeing me here onstage?”
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He continued, “In all seriousness, Linda and I worked together for many, many years here at NBC.” He expressed gratitude “for her many contributions and for building an excellent team here. We want to thank her and wish her well.” In a nod to not only Yaccarino’s exit but likely Shell’s, he continued, “We’ve had some changes around here but the strength, expertise and spirit of this company remain not only intact, but stronger than ever.”
After Yaccarino’s stunning move, Mark Marshall was swiftly named her interim replacement, reporting to Lazarus. (Yaccarino had reported directly to Shell and then, upon Shell’s exit last month, Comcast President Mike Cavanagh.)
Along with the odd spectacle of seeing news anchors, football coaches and unscripted personalities taking the stage even to tee up scripted fare, the upfront lacked Yaccarino’s usual spice. Nicknamed the Velvet Hammer for her negotiating style, the exec typically used the Radio City moment to jab rivals, especially those on the digital side of the aisle, making the case for NBCU’s “brand safety” and reach.
A strong round of applause greeted Marshall when he walked onstage to deliver the final remarks before pop star Nick Jonas closed the show. He called it “an absolute honor and a bit humbling” to be standing there given he hadn’t expected to as of just three days ago. Applause rippled through the hall again when he asked for the TelePromTer to scroll forward. “Perfect,” he quipped. “First year.”
Marshall said he had worked with “the best executives anywhere, including Linda Yaccarino.” He told media buyers he had heard from “so many of you over the past 72 hours and I can’t tell you how much that means to me.” This year, he added, “is going to be an extremely important year for your business. … You need every single impression to work harder than ever.”
In their past career chapters, Marshall and Yaccarino had worked together at Turner Broadcasting (as did Lazarus) before arriving at NBCU in the early 2010s. After rising through the ranks, Marshall was named president of ad sales and partnerships in 2018. A fellow senior exec, Laura Molen, was another key deputy to Yaccarino but left the company earlier this year amid a broader streamlining of the ad sales staff.
Peter White contributed to this report.
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