Universal Filmed Entertainment Group chairman Donna Langley is bolstering her executive team following the promotion of Jeff Shell to CEO of parent company NBCUniversal. Langley has upped Universal Pictures president Peter Levinsohn to vice chairman, an internal studio memo obtained by Variety said. Levinsohn, who will also keep the previous title of chief distribution officer, joined the company in 2013. He will continue his oversight of domestic theatrical distribution, worldwide home entertainment, global television distribution, new media and digital strategy,...
NBCUniversal
Peter
Levinsohn
Chairman, Global Distribution, Studio Group
Levinsohn has spearheaded Universal’s windowing strategy, making its movies available via premium video on demand (PVOD) for rental or purchase as soon as 17 days after their theatrical release and streamable on Peacock as early as 45 days after the theatrical and PVOD releases. The studio further maximized the effectiveness and profitability of its distribution model by restructuring TV deals, enabling it to license content to a multitude of partners and platforms. Under that licensing deal, Universal’s 2023 box-office hits “M3GAN” and “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” were brought to Peacock. Additionally, three of the company’s original films went directly to the streamer this year: the biopic “Shooting Stars,” from LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s SpringHill Company; the musical-competition film “Praise This,” from Will Packer Productions; and John Woo’s English-language reimagining of his 1989 Hong Kong action thriller “The Killer.”
