Kevin Reilly almost out the door at NBC: Unidentified NBC execs

We never saw this one coming based on the fact that his contract was recently renewed to continue as President of NBC Entertainment. Then again shame on us for thinking a contract means shit in the media/entertainment business. According to some unloyal NBC execs, NBC Universal is reportedly in negotiations to kick Kevin Reilly to the curb and replace him with producer Ben Silverman, who will probably meet the same fate some years down the line. Is this a "We like you Kevin but we Like Ben better" situation? Is Kevin Reilly no longer hitting Jeff Zucker's spot? At the end of the day, all this is to please the sharks at GE and why shouldn't it be? If they're not pleased then that’s Jeff Zucker's ass. Hey Kev call up Les and see what he has open over at CBS. Several executives who have been informed of the discussions said that NBC Universal had started some complex negotiations with Mr. Silverman to take a leadership role in its entertainment operations, including devising new approaches to unite its broadcast, cable and Internet programming divisions. NBC Said to Be in Talks to Remove Program Chief [NYT]

Afternoon Wire: Mike Eisner's a VuGuru | The Reilly victory, and more in this afternoon's worthy media news...

-Shomari Hines Looks like Michael Eisner will land on our winners list this week again. The man just keeps the news coming. last week he and some of his money bags buddies took over baseball card maker Topps, and now the former Disney dictator has launched a media studio which will produce content for the Internet. Is this the comeback of Eisner or the new Eisner? [Businesswire] Kevin Reilly being kept on as President of entertainment at NBC, some kind of victory for fans. [AZstarnet] That chick who got the NBC Nightly News Executive Producer job, does a Q&A with Broadcasting & Cable in what seems like an effort to convince herself and readers that she can do the job [B&C] Our friends in our heads at Gawker talks to the staff of the New York Daily News in a way only they can understand [Gawker]

Lucky for Reilly, he has the Zuck's support

NBC Entertainment Prexy Kevin Reilly is breathing easier this morning now that his leaders at NBC Universal will keep him on for a few more years. Apparently NBC's recent little spike held him by a piece of floss and he couldn't be more happier. “A lot of that stuff just goes with the gig in good times and especially in bad times,” he says. “It stopped bothering me personally, but it messes with the organization; people get insecure.” “I believe there were other options,” he acknowledges. “It hasn’t been an easy couple of years. But I really wanted to finish what I started.” Reilly says despite recent rumors that he may have been looking elsewhere, his first choice was always to remain with NBC. Well at least he was putting a back up plan in place in case the writing on the wall became more and more visible. NBC's Reilly Glad To Have Job Security Questions Behind Him [B&C]