Ben Silverman
Encyclopedia
Benjamin Noah "Ben" Silverman (born August 15, 1970) is the founder and CEO of Electus
, a next generation entertainment studio staked by IAC's Barry Diller
.
From 2007-2009, Silverman served as co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios. He is also an Emmy and Golden Globe-winning executive producer of such shows as The Office, Ugly Betty
, The Tudors
, and The Biggest Loser.
to a Reform Jewish family. Raised in Manhattan
, Silverman is a 1992 magna cum laude graduate of Tufts University
, where he majored in history. His mother, Mary Silverman, was a programming executive whose career included stints at the Disney Channel
, BBC
, USA Network
, Lifetime Television
, and Court TV
. His father Stanley Silverman is an award-winning music composer/arranger.
Formerly, Silverman was in charge of the international packaging division at the William Morris Agency
, where he was the company's youngest division head, packaging more than 25 television series, including Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
, The Weakest Link, Big Brother, and Queer as Folk. Prior to joining William Morris, he was vice-president for New World/Marvel Entertainment, and also held posts at CBS
, and Warner Bros.
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
ceremony.
, a television, film, and theater production and distribution company now owned by Shine Limited
under News Corporation
. 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
's The Office, The Restaurant, The Biggest Loser
, and ABC
's Ugly Betty
, as well as several cable shows, including Nashville Star
, on USA Network
, 30 Days on FX, MTV
's Parental Control and Date My Mom
, Blow Out
on Bravo, and House of Boateng on the Sundance Channel.
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.
, 34 years earlier, to have two shows nominated for an Emmy in the best comedy category (The Office and Ugly Betty). When Silverman came to the network, NBC was experiencing a ratings low, finishing in fourth place of the four major networks after losing huge hits like Friends
, The West Wing, and Seinfeld
.
Silverman was also credited for playing a major role in saving the critically acclaimed NBC drama Friday Night Lights
by striking an innovative deal with DirecTV. 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 their 101 channel. NBC would then repurpose the episodes to be aired on the network later in the season.
to form a new company, Electus, with Barry Diller
's IAC/InterActiveCorp that will produce and distribute programs across media
platforms, for television
, the Web
or mobile devices. The new venture will expand upon Silverman's experience bringing advertisers into the content development process, creating what Silverman calls "a new form of advertising network in coordination with the traditional and the new-media outlets".
Since Electus’ launch, the company has announced several acquisitions and partnerships. In January, 2010, Silverman and Electus partnered with Jason Bateman and Will Arnett to launch their sponsor-driven advertising and digital production company DumbDumb. Electus will help partner advertisers with the duo to develop brand-inspired short and long form programming for distribution across all forms of social, digital, and traditional media.
In January, 2011, Electus announced the acquisition of Engine Entertainment and the formation of a new in-house global distribution arm, Electus/Engine Distribution. The new division will handle both in-house and third-party projects for distribution globally.
Electus
also has current partnerships with 5x5 and DiGa.
in the first episode of the fifth season of the television show Entourage
. Silverman read a single line in which he expressed annoyance at Johnny Drama wasting his time.
Electus
Electus is a next generation production studio founded by Ben Silverman and financed by Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp in 2009...
, a next generation entertainment studio staked by IAC's Barry Diller
Barry Diller
Barry Charles Diller is the Chairman and Senior Executive of IAC/InterActiveCorp and the media executive responsible for the creation of Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting.-Early life:...
.
From 2007-2009, Silverman served as co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios. He is also an Emmy and Golden Globe-winning executive producer of such shows as The Office, Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which premiered on ABC on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series revolves around the character Betty Suarez and is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian telenovela soap opera Yo soy Betty, la fea...
, The Tudors
The Tudors
The Tudors is a Canadian produced historical fiction television series filmed in Ireland, created by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime...
, and The Biggest Loser.
Early life and career
Silverman was born in Pittsfield, MassachusettsPittsfield, 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. Its area code is 413. Its ZIP code is 01201...
to a Reform Jewish family. Raised in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, Silverman is a 1992 magna cum laude graduate of Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
, where he majored in history. His mother, Mary Silverman, was a programming executive whose career included stints at the Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
, BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
, Lifetime Television
Lifetime Television
Lifetime Television, often referred to as Lifetime TV, or most commonly, Lifetime, is an American cable television specialty channel devoted to movies, sitcoms and dramas, all of which are either geared toward women or feature women in lead roles. The cable network is owned by A&E Television Networks...
, and Court TV
Court TV
truTV is an American cable television network owned by Turner Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Time Warner. The network launched as Court TV in 1991, changing to truTV in 2008...
. His father Stanley Silverman is an award-winning music composer/arranger.
Formerly, Silverman was in charge of the international packaging division at the William Morris Agency
William Morris Agency
WME is the largest talent agency in the world, with offices in Beverly Hills, New York City, Nashville, London, and Miami. WME represents elite artists from all facets of the entertainment industry, including motion pictures, television, music, theatre, publishing, and physical production...
, 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 (US game show)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is an American television quiz show which offers a maximum prize of $1,000,000 for correctly answering 14 consecutive multiple-choice questions of random difficulty. Until 2010, the format required contestants to correctly answer 15 consecutive questions of increasing...
, The Weakest Link, Big Brother, and Queer as Folk. Prior to joining William Morris, he was vice-president for New World/Marvel Entertainment, and also held posts at CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, and Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
In 2007, Silverman received the P.T. Barnum Award
P.T. Barnum Awards
The P.T. Barnum Awards for Excellence in Entertainment is an annual awards ceremony honoring alumni of Tufts University for their exceptional work in the field of media and entertainment...
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
Rose d'Or
The Rose d’Or is one of the most important international festivals in entertainment television. It was founded in Montreux in 1961 and has taken place in Lucerne since 2004. Producers, executives from independent and public service broadcasters and heads of production companies from over 40...
ceremony.
Reveille
Silverman is the founder of ReveilleReveille Productions
Reveille Productions is an independently-owned television and motion picture studio and production company based in Los Angeles. The studio was founded by Ben Silverman in March 2002....
, a television, film, and theater production and distribution company now owned by Shine Limited
Shine Limited
Shine Limited is a British media production company with offices in London and Manchester....
under News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
. 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
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's The Office, The Restaurant, The Biggest Loser
The Biggest Loser
The Biggest Loser is an American reality game show that debuted on NBC October 19, 2004. The show features obese people competing to win a cash prize by losing the highest percentage of weight relative to their initial weight....
, and ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which premiered on ABC on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series revolves around the character Betty Suarez and is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian telenovela soap opera Yo soy Betty, la fea...
, as well as several cable shows, including Nashville Star
Nashville Star
Nashville Star is an American reality television program. It was transmitted during mid-2008 on NBC, following five seasons on USA Network. It premiered on March 8, 2003, and its five seasons on USA made it the longest-running competition series on cable television. In Canada, the show aired on CMT...
, on USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
, 30 Days on FX, MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's Parental Control and Date My Mom
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. An 18- to 24-year-old male, or gay male/lesbian female, goes on three separate dates with three moms, who try to convince them to pick their son or...
, Blow Out
Blow Out (TV series)
Blow Out was a reality television series that first premiered on the Bravo cable television network in 2004, with a second season broadcasting in 2005. The first season revolved around the construction and launch of Jonathan Salon in Beverly Hills, an upscale Los Angeles hair salon...
on Bravo, and House of Boateng on the Sundance Channel.
Journalist Michael Wolff
Michael Wolff
Michael Blieden Wolff is an American jazz pianist, composer, producer, actor, and jazz educator. He was the bandleader and musical director of The Arsenio Hall Show...
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 chosen as co-chairman of NBC Entertainment in 2007 (along with Marc Graboff), replacing Kevin Reilly. That same year, Silverman was the first producer since Norman LearNorman Lear
Norman Milton Lear is an American television writer and producer who produced such 1970s sitcoms as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times and Maude...
, 34 years earlier, to have two shows nominated for an Emmy in the best comedy category (The Office and Ugly Betty). When Silverman came to the network, NBC was experiencing a ratings low, finishing in fourth place of the four major networks after losing huge hits like Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, The West Wing, and Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
.
Silverman was also credited for playing a major role in saving the critically acclaimed NBC drama Friday Night Lights
Friday Night Lights (TV series)
Friday Night Lights is an American sports drama television series adapted by Peter Berg, Brian Grazer and David Nevins from a book and film of the same name. The series details events surrounding a high school football team based in fictional Dillon, Texas, with particular focus given to team...
by striking an innovative deal with DirecTV. 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 their 101 channel. NBC would then repurpose the episodes to be aired on the network later in the season.
Electus
On July 27, 2009, Silverman announced that he was leaving NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
to form a new company, Electus, with Barry Diller
Barry Diller
Barry Charles Diller is the Chairman and Senior Executive of IAC/InterActiveCorp and the media executive responsible for the creation of Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting.-Early life:...
's IAC/InterActiveCorp that will produce and distribute programs across media
Electronic media
Electronic media are media that use electronics or electromechanical energy for the end-user to access the content. This is in contrast to static media , which today are most often created electronically, but don't require electronics to be accessed by the end-user in the printed form...
platforms, for television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, the Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
or mobile devices. The new venture will expand upon Silverman's experience bringing advertisers into the content development process, creating what Silverman calls "a new form of advertising network in coordination with the traditional and the new-media outlets".
Since Electus’ launch, the company has announced several acquisitions and partnerships. In January, 2010, Silverman and Electus partnered with Jason Bateman and Will Arnett to launch their sponsor-driven advertising and digital production company DumbDumb. Electus will help partner advertisers with the duo to develop brand-inspired short and long form programming for distribution across all forms of social, digital, and traditional media.
In January, 2011, Electus announced the acquisition of Engine Entertainment and the formation of a new in-house global distribution arm, Electus/Engine Distribution. The new division will handle both in-house and third-party projects for distribution globally.
Electus
Electus
Electus is a next generation production studio founded by Ben Silverman and financed by Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp in 2009...
also has current partnerships with 5x5 and DiGa.
Acting roles
Silverman had a cameo appearanceCameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
in the first episode of the fifth season of the television show Entourage
Entourage (TV series)
Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons...
. Silverman read a single line in which he expressed annoyance at Johnny Drama wasting his time.
Other works
| Year | Production | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2005–2008 | 30 Days | executive producer Executive producer An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production... |
| 2005–2011 | The Office | executive producer Executive producer An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production... |
| 2005–2011 | The Biggest Loser | executive producer Executive producer An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production... |
| 2006–2011 | Ugly Betty Ugly Betty Ugly Betty is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which premiered on ABC on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series revolves around the character Betty Suarez and is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian telenovela soap opera Yo soy Betty, la fea... |
executive producer Executive producer An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production... |
| 2007–2010 | The Tudors The Tudors The Tudors is a Canadian produced historical fiction television series filmed in Ireland, created by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime... |
executive producer Executive producer An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production... |
| 2008–2009 | Kath & Kim Kath & Kim (U.S. TV series) Kath & Kim is an American version of the Australian television comedy series of the same name starring Selma Blair and Molly Shannon. The series premiered on NBC on October 9, 2008... |
executive producer Executive producer An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production... |
| 2010 | MacGruber MacGruber MacGruber was a recurring sketch on the NBC television series Saturday Night Live, first appearing on the show in January 2007. The sketch stars Will Forte as special operations agent MacGruber, who is tasked in each episode with deactivating a ticking bomb but becomes distracted by personal... |
co-executive producer |
| 2011–present | Mob Wives Mob Wives Mob Wives is an American reality television series airing on VH1. It follows four Staten Island women after their husbands or fathers are arrested and imprisoned for crimes connected to the Mafia. They have been described as "rats and stoolies" since discussing private family business on TV... |
executive producer Executive producer An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production... |