6 DEC 2019

FRANCES MANFREDI TO LEAD PEACOCK'S ACQUISITION STRATEGY

The executive, who has spent the past eight years overseeing TV and film distribution at NBCUniversal, is moving over to the company's streaming service as President of Content Acquisition and Strategy.

6 DEC 2019

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Frances Manfredi, who has spent the past eight years overseeing TV and film distribution at NBCUniversal, is moving over to the company's streaming service, Peacock, as President of Content Acquisition and Strategy, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Manfredi — who led the auction for library rights to “The Office” — will begin her new role in January and lead Peacock's licensing and acquisition strategy. She will work closely with Bill McGoldrick, Head of Originals, but report to recently installed Peacock’s Chairman, Matt Strauss.

Manfredi's position highlights the increasingly valuable role that library titles play in the streaming era. In June, NBCUniversal paid $500 million to regain domestic streaming rights to “The Office” amid fierce competition from a number of other outlets, including Netflix, where the comedy was one of its most watched acquired titles.

In her former role, Manfredi oversaw TV and film distribution to basic and pay cable platforms as well as SVOD services in the U.S. and Canada for NBCU. In her career, the streaming rights pioneer spearheaded the first-ever major studio deal with Netflix in 2006 and worked on Hulu's multiple-year licensing deal that covered shows such as “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Parks and Recreation” and “Keeping Up With the Kardashians”.

Manfredi has been with NBCUniversal for nearly two decades and has worked in its domestic TV distribution and cable sales divisions. She held similar roles at CBS from 1995 to 2000.