Benjamin Noah Silverman (born August 15, 1970) is an American media executive. He is the co-CEO and

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

of the entertainment production company Propagate. From 2007–2009, Silverman served as co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and

Universal Media Studios Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a prede ...

. He is also an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

and Golden Globe-winning executive producer of such shows as ''

The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original ser ...

'', ''

Jane The Virgin ''Jane the Virgin'' is an American romantic comedy-drama and satirical telenovela developed by Jennie Snyder Urman. The series premiered October 13, 2014, on The CW and concluded on July 31, 2019. It is a loose adaptation of the Venezuelan t ...

'', ''

Ugly Betty ''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which was originally broadcast on ABC. It premiered on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombi ...

'', ''

Marco Polo Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in '' The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...

'', ''

The Tudors ''The Tudors'' is a historical fiction television series set primarily in 16th-century England, created and written by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime. The series was a collaboration among ...

'' and ''

The Biggest Loser ''The Biggest Loser'' is a reality television format which started with the American TV show '' The Biggest Loser'' in 2004. The show centers on overweight and obese contestants attempting to lose the most weight; the winner receives a cash pr ...

''. Silverman also produced CW's praised '' No Tomorrow'' and Apple's first reality television show '' Planet of the Apps''. On July 10, 2014, The Banff World Media Festival presented Silverman with the ''Award of Excellence in Digital Innovation''. As of the fourth quarter 2016, Silverman's most recently released feature film ''

Hands of Stone ''Hands of Stone'' is a 2016 American biographical sports film about the career of Panamanian former professional boxer Roberto Durán. It is directed and written by Jonathan Jakubowicz. It stars Édgar Ramírez, Robert De Niro, Usher, Ruben Blad ...

'' starring Edgar Ramirez,

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...

and

Usher Usher may refer to: Several jobs which originally involved directing people and ensuring people are in the correct place: * Usher (occupation) ** Church usher ** Wedding usher, one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony ** F ...

, and was released theatrically in North America on August 26, 2016 through

The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America pri ...

Life and career

Silverman was born in

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield� ...

. He was raised in a

Reform Jewish Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous searc ...

family in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

.Malone, Michael
Silverman Searches Globe for Next Trend
''Broadcasting & Cable'', November 14, 2005. Silverman is a 1992 ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

'' graduate of

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

, where he majored in history and belonged to the Epsilon Theta chapter of the

Theta Chi Theta Chi () is an international Fraternities and sororities, college fraternity. It was founded on April 10, 1856 at Norwich University then-located in Norwich, Vermont, and has initiated more than 200,000 members and currently has over 8,700 c ...

fraternity. His mother, Mary (Delson) Silverman, was an actress and programming executive whose career included employment at the

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Comp ...

, BBC,

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madi ...

Lifetime Television Lifetime is an American basic cable channel that is part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, a subsidiary of A&E Networks, which is jointly owned by Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company. It features programming that is geared toward ...

, and

Court TV Court TV is an American digital broadcast network and former cable television channel. It was originally launched in 1991 with a focus on crime-themed programs such as true crime documentary series, legal analysis talk shows, and live news cov ...

. His father, Stanley Silverman, is a music composer/arranger. He had summer internships at Warner Bros., and after college in 1993, worked at

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

and then worked for Brandon Tartikoff at New World Entertainment. He worked for the

William Morris Agency The William Morris Agency (WMA) was a Hollywood-based talent agency. It represented some of the best known 20th-century entertainers in film, television, and music. During its 109-year tenure it came to be regarded as the "first great talent ag ...

starting in 1995; Silverman was in charge of the international packaging division, where he was the company's youngest division head, packaging more than 25 television series, including ''

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (often informally called ''Millionaire'') is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and l ...

'', ''

Weakest Link ''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host Anne Robinson completed her contract. ...

'', '' Big Brother'', and ''

Queer as Folk ''Queer as Folk'' may refer to: * ''Queer as Folk'' (British TV series), 1999–2000 * ''Queer as Folk'' (American TV series), a 2000–2005 American and Canadian version of the UK series ** ''Queer as Folk'' soundtracks, soundtrack albums from ...

''. He worked for William Morris Agency until 2002, when he left to found Reveille. In 2007, Silverman received the P.T. Barnum Award from Tufts University for his exceptional work in the field of media and entertainment. Silverman is involved with multiple philanthropic endeavors, including Seeds of Peace, a group helping to foster peace among young people from adversarial cultures. In addition, Silverman sits on the Cedars-Sinai Hospital board of governors. Silverman also serves on the board of directors of Best Buddies, a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities by providing guidance and integrated employment. In 2008, Silverman received an Honorary Rose for lifetime achievement the

Rose d'Or The Rose d'Or ('Golden Rose') is an international awards festival in entertainment broadcasting and programming. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) first acquired the Rose d’Or in 1961, when it was created by Swiss Television in the lakes ...

ceremony. Silverman married Jennifer Cuoco, a real estate agent, in December 2010.

Reveille

Silverman is the founder of

Reveille "Reveille" ( , ), called in French "Le Réveil" is a bugle call, trumpet call, drum, fife-and-drum or pipes call most often associated with the military; it is chiefly used to wake military personnel at sunrise. The name comes from (or ), the ...

, a television, film, and theater production and distribution company now owned by

Shine Limited Shine TV is a British media production company and part of Banijay with offices in London and Manchester. Shine was founded in March 2001 by Elisabeth Murdoch, daughter of News Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch. The company was 80% owned by Elis ...

under

News Corporation News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New ...

. He founded Reveille in 2002 in order to exploit international formats by selling them in the United States. Through his work at Reveille, he is the executive producer of such shows as

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's ''

'', '' The Restaurant'', ''

'', and ABC's ''

'', as well as several cable shows, including '' Nashville Star'', on

, '' 30 Days'' on FX,

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's ''

Parental Control ''Parental Control'' is a reality television show about people looking for love produced by MTV. The two directors, Brendon Carter and Bruce Klassen, have also created other MTV shows. In Asia, this show was aired on Channel V from 2007–2009. ...

'' and ''

Date My Mom ''Date My Mom'' is a television dating show airing on the music channel MTV and produced by Kalissa Productions. The series premiered on November 15, 2004 and ended in 2006. An 18- to 24-year-old heterosexual male, gay male or lesbian female, goes ...

'', ''

Blow Out ''Blow Out'' is a 1981 American neo-noir mystery thriller film written and directed by Brian De Palma. The film stars John Travolta as Jack Terry, a movie sound effects technician from Philadelphia who, while recording sounds for a low-budge ...

'' on Bravo, and '' House of Boateng'' on the

Sundance TV Sundance TV (formerly known as Sundance Channel) is an American pay television channel owned by AMC Networks that launched on February 1, 1996. The channel is named after Robert Redford's character in ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' and, w ...

. Journalist Michael Wolff wrote a 2001 profile of Silverman in ''New York Magazine'' a year before he founded Reveille. "In some sense, he's like those boy geniuses of the eighties and nineties who invented new financial instruments -- junk bonds and derivatives and whatnot. The discovery and marketing of a new format is really like that. It's creating something that is negotiable and transferable and that people believe in deeply -- it solves all their problems. Now, obviously, there is a certain obsolescence to these formats (with junk bonds you had inevitable bankruptcies). And Ben, of course, is already searching the world for new formats. Variety shows might be a possibility," Wolff wrote.

NBC

Silverman was named co-chairman of NBC Entertainment in 2007 (along with Marc Graboff), succeeding Kevin Reilly. That same year, Silverman was the first producer since

Norman Lear Norman Milton Lear (born July 27, 1922) is an American producer and screenwriter, who has produced, written, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear is known for many popular 1970s sitcoms, including the multi-award winning '' All in the Fami ...

, 34 years earlier, to have two shows nominated for an Emmy in the best comedy category (''The Office'' and ''Ugly Betty'')."Silverman the peacock at NBC-Uni's pre-Emmy party"
He is credited for his role in saving the critically acclaimed but low-rated NBC drama '' Friday Night Lights'' by striking an innovative deal with DirecTV."Ben Silverman, 'Friday Night Lights' Savior: Saved Show By 'Yelling At A Lot Of People'"
/ref> The satellite television provider agreed to take on a substantial amount of the show's production budget in exchange for exclusive first-window airing rights on its 101 channel. NBC would then repurpose the episodes to be aired on the network later in the season."'Friday Night Lights' Gets 26-Episode Order From DirecTV, NBC"

Electus

On July 27, 2009, Silverman announced he was leaving

to form a new company, Electus, in partnership with

Barry Diller Barry Charles Diller (born February 2, 1942) is an American businessman. He is Chairman and Senior Executive of IAC and Expedia Group and founded the Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting. Diller was inducted into the Television Hall o ...

's IAC/InterActiveCorp, that would produce and distribute programs across

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

platforms, for

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

, the

Web Web most often refers to: * Spider web, a silken structure created by the animal * World Wide Web or the Web, an Internet-based hypertext system Web, WEB, or the Web may also refer to: Computing * WEB, a literate programming system created by ...

and

mobile devices A mobile device (or handheld computer) is a computer small enough to hold and operate in the hand. Mobile devices typically have a flat LCD or OLED screen, a touchscreen interface, and digital or physical buttons. They may also have a physical ...

. As part of its inception, IAC partnered Electus with the interactive comedy portal

CollegeHumor CollegeHumor is an Internet comedy company based in Los Angeles. Aside from producing content for release on YouTube, it was also a former humor website owned by InterActiveCorp ( IAC) until January 2020, when IAC withdrew funding and the websi ...

. In January 2010, Silverman and Electus partnered with

Jason Bateman Jason Kent Bateman (born January 14, 1969) is an American actor, director and producer known for his roles of Michael Bluth in the Fox/Netflix sitcom '' Arrested Development'' and of Marty Byrde in the Netflix crime drama series '' Ozark'' (20 ...

and

Will Arnett William Emerson Arnett (; born May 4, 1970) is a Canadian actor, comedian and producer. He is best known for his roles as Gob Bluth in the Fox/Netflix series '' Arrested Development'' (2003–2006, 2013, 2018–2019) and as the titular char ...

to launch their sponsor-driven advertising and digital production company DumbDumb."Bateman, Arnett Form DumbDumb"
''Variety''

Electus Electus was a production company founded by Ben Silverman in 2009. It was financed by IAC. The company had development deals with NBC, ABC, MTV, VH1, Facebook, Yahoo!, and AOL. In 2018, IAC sold Electus to Propagate Content. History and par ...

also has partnerships with 5x5 and

DiGa Diga is one of the woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. It is part of the Misraq Welega Zone and it is part of former Diga Leka woreda. Demographics The 2007 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 66,689, of whom ...

. On May 8, 2014, The CW announced a first season order for Silverman's new television show ''Jane The Virgin''."CW Picks Up ‘The Flash’, ‘iZombie’, ‘Jane the Virgin’ & ‘The Messengers’ To Series"
''Deadline.com'', May 8, 2014.

Acting roles

Silverman had a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

in the first episode of the fifth season of the television show ''

Entourage An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to: Arts and entertainment * L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...

''. Silverman read a single line in which he expressed annoyance at Johnny Drama wasting his time. Silverman appeared in four episodes during the ninth season of the television show ''

'', starting with "

Here Comes Treble "Here Comes Treble" is the fifth episode of the ninth season of the American comedy television series ''The Office''. The episode originally aired on NBC on October 25, 2012. It guest stars Stephen Colbert as Andy's college friend Broccoli Rob an ...

"; he played Isaac, one of Jim's business partners.

Credits

References

External links

* *
"TV's Hot Property", Tufts e-news, July 02, 2003

"Like Mother, Like Son - And Made for TV"

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silverman, Ben 1970 births Living people American reality television producers American Reform Jews Businesspeople from Massachusetts NBC executives People from Pittsfield, Massachusetts People from Manhattan Presidents of NBC Entertainment Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences alumni Television producers from New York City American chief executives