Silverman sells Reveille to a Murdoch

Kath and Kim could be having wine-time with media baron Rupert Murdoch and his family after a US production company changed hands this week.

NBC Entertainment co-Chairman Ben Silverman’s production company Reveille was sold to London-based Shine Ltd., owned by Rupert Murdoch’s daughter Elisabeth, for $125 million.

The deal follows conflict of interest criticism that Reveille development and production deals compromised his role at NBC.

Last week NBC approved 6 episodes of Reveille-co-production Kath and Kim, significantly skipping the pilot.

Reveille has also produced The Biggest Loser, Ugly Betty, The Office, The Tudors and NBC’s American Gladiators.

During the last nine months, Reveille has blossomed into one of NBC’s most important programming suppliers. It has sold at least 14 shows and scripts to NBC for its prime-time schedule since Silverman joined the network.

Several ethics experts questioned NBC’s handling of the Silverman situation. Some said NBC would have avoided any conflict by buying Reveille in June, before the surge in sales as Silverman began recommending Reveille shows, or forcing Silverman to immediately divest.

Silverman is a close friend of Elisabeth Murdoch, the 39-year-old daughter of the News Corp. chairman. Their relationship goes back a decade. Silverman was Elisabeth Murdoch’s agent when he worked at the William Morris office in London.

“Lis Murdoch is a dear friend. She was a handpicked buyer and she is the perfect person to look after the company and grow it to the next level,” Silverman said in an interview.

Source: LA Times