NBC NAMES NEW YORK DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE KATIE O'CONNELL AS SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, DRAMA DEVELOPMENT, IN NETWORK'S BURBANK OFFICES

NBC NAMES NEW YORK DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE KATIE O'CONNELL AS SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, DRAMA DEVELOPMENT, IN NETWORK'S BURBANK OFFICES

BURBANK April 12, 2006 -- Katie O'Connell, NBC's New York-based program development executive, has been named as Senior Vice President, Drama Development, NBC Entertainment, and will re-locate to the network's Burbank corporate offices. The announcement was made today by Kevin Reilly, President, NBC Entertainment.

"Katie was a top draft pick when she joined NBC last year and she's done a terrific job turning the lights on in our New York development office -- an effort we're going to continue," said Reilly. "As we're looking to expand our already stellar drama team, Katie was ready to move back to Los Angeles, and it felt like the perfect fit."

O'Connell will continue to report to Katherine Pope, Executive Vice President, NBC Entertainment. NBC will announce a successor for O'Connell, who was named as Senior Vice President, New York Development, NBC Entertainment, in July 2005.

Last July, O'Connell took over the newly formed position and headed the network's New York-based creative office as part of NBC's development re-structure in Spring 2005. She spearheaded the cultivation of East Coast-based creative talent, working across all NBC television genres, including both comedy and drama.

O'Connell's New York development credits include Candace Bushnell's best-seller "Lipstick Jungle," which is shooting its pilot this summer; the casting addition of Alec Baldwin to Tina Fey's pilot which just completed shooting and a presentation from comedian Sam Seder. In addition, O'Connell focused on NBC's key active relationships with Lorne Michaels and "Saturday Night Live" and Conan O'Brien with "Late Night with Conan O'Brien." Both Michaels and O'Brien have production companies and are developing series for primetime.

O'Connell came to NBC from Imagine Television, where she was Executive Vice President of Development and Current Programming. During her five-year term at Imagine, O'Connell developed numerous comedy and drama projects, including the Emmy Award-winning "Arrested Development," which was named Outstanding Comedy Series in 2005. While at Imagine, O'Connell also supervised the series "24," "Arrested Development," "Quintuplets," "The Inside," and the final season of "The PJ's."

Prior to joining Imagine, O'Connell was Director of Comedy Development at CBS. At CBS, she helped developed numerous comedies including "King of Queens," "Becker" and "Yes, Dear."

Before moving to Los Angeles, O'Connell worked as a Regional Director for Sachs Group, a strategic planning and marketing consulting firm based in Chicago. She graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a bachelor of arts degree in American studies.

O'Connell also is involved with Women in Film as a mentor and is an adviser for the Council of Media Advisers. She is also an honorary board member of Vital Bridges, a Chicago-based organization dedicated to helping people living with AIDS as well as their families.