NBC UNIVERSAL NAMES VINCE MANZE TO NEWLY CREATED POSITION OF PRESIDENT, NBC PROGRAM PLANNING, SCHEDULING AND STRATEGY
BURBANK, Calif. � April 2, 2007 � Emmy Award winner Vince Manze, who had served as President and Creative Director of The NBC Agency since 1999, has been named to the newly created position of President, NBC Program Planning, Scheduling and Strategy, NBC Universal, it was announced today by Kevin Reilly, President, NBC Entertainment, to whom he will report.
"Vince has proven himself to be the consummate pro in so many entities of NBC Universal, and we expect this to be a seamless transition," said Reilly. "He brings passion, bold instincts and a savvy knowledge of everything about television to whatever he does. He has extensive experience creating event television and NBC will benefit from his vision and creativity."
Manze's new responsibilities will include overseeing long-range program planning and scheduling for the NBC Television Network. In addition, he will coordinate closely on the network's cross-platform cable opportunities.
Mitch Metcalf, NBC's respected scheduling executive, will continue as Executive Vice President, Program Planning & Scheduling, NBC Universal, and will report to Manze. Likewise, Lisa Vebber, Vice President, Scheduling & Strategic Analysis, NBC Universal, and Jay Potashnick, Director, Program Planning & Scheduling, NBC Universal, will continue to report to Metcalf.
Manze is an Emmy and PROMAX Pinnacle Award winner who helped to launch The NBC Agency in November 1999 while serving as the firm's President and Creative Director. His endeavors allowed him to work closely with his longtime NBC advertising & promotion partner John Miller. Among Manze's responsibilities was overseeing the development of all creative content produced by The Agency.
Under Miller and Manze's direction, The NBC Agency has quickly established itself as one of the nation's top creative commercial firms with a roster of clients that includes all NBC Universal divisions.
Prior to the formation of The NBC Agency, Manze had served as Senior Vice President, Advertising & Promotion, NBC Entertainment, since September 1992. Over the past several years, Miller and Manze's group has received more PROMAX awards and other top industry honors than any other network advertising and promotion team. Miller and Manze had long been recognized as industry trendsetters and under their leadership NBC is the most successful network in terms of building viewer awareness in its new programs. Miller and Manze had overseen the creation of successful franchise campaigns, such as "Must See TV," and helped to develop and strengthen NBC's brand identity.
In 1999, Miller, Manze and their NBC colleagues received the Emmy for Outstanding Commercial for an advertisement for the Internet portal service Snap.com. The spot also received the World's Best Commercial award from the IBA. Last year, Manze was presented the Pinnacle Award by the members of PROMAX, which honors his lifetime achievements in the advertising and promotion industry. This is the same international association that named Miller and Manze the Marketing Team of the Year in 1995, and presented Manze with its Marketing Maverick Award that same year. More recently, Miller and Manze were honored by the Promax&BDA organization with a Campaign of Distinction award for their work on the runaway hit reality series, "The Apprentice."
Manze is also responsible for developing programming for NBC Entertainment. Most recently, he co-created and is executive producer of the syndicated series, "She Spies." He also has served as the creator and executive producer of numerous NBC specials, including NBC's "All-Star Comedy Hour," "TV's Funniest Families," "TV's Funniest Kids" and the Saturday-morning series "Guys Next Door."
Manze joined NBC in March 1990 as Vice President, Advertising & Promotion, NBC West Coast. In the spring of 1992, he was named Vice President, Advertising & Promotion, NBC-TV. Later that same year, he was appointed Senior Vice President, Advertising & Promotion, NBC Entertainment. Prior to joining NBC, Manze served as Executive Vice President of Steve Sohmer Inc., a theatrical motion picture and television production company that also specialized in television advertising and promotion. He has also worked for NBC4, the NBC-owned station in Burbank, as Director of Broadcasting and Promotion.
In addition, Manze's extensive background includes experience as Communications Director/Executive Producer, Specials, at WCAU-TV, the NBC-owned station in his hometown of Philadelphia; Director of Communications for WCBS-TV in New York; and Promotion Manager for WLS-TV in Chicago.
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