TV exec Gail Berman ends seven-year partnership with Lloyd Braun
One of Hollywood’s most eclectic corporate marriages has ended.
On Wednesday, Gail Berman announced that she was leaving BermanBraun, the digital and TV production shop that she co-founded in 2007 with former Yahoo! and ABC Television executive Lloyd Braun.
Braun plans to acquire Berman’s interest to become sole owner of the Santa Monica firm, the company, which currently employs about 150 people, said in a statement.
Berman hinted that she has a new gig lined up.
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“There are several unique opportunities I am considering and intend to make an announcement about my decision very soon,” she said in a statement.
Some have speculated that the Walt Disney Co., parent of ABC, might be a destination, but people close to Berman and the network dismissed the notion. She has been approached in recent months by several companies, one person said. Berman is expected to sell her stake in BermanBraun for about $20 million.
Berman has had a prosperous career in entertainment. The former Fox television president also served two years as president of Paramount Pictures movie studio and had a successful run as a TV and theater producer before joining the executive ranks. She helped create “Malcolm in the Middle,” and was an executive producer on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” and “Angel.”
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BermanBraun was created to become a powerful boutique TV and digital entertainment studio and launched with a production deal with NBC. While the firm created few hit TV shows, it has gained plenty of traction in the digital space with 11 properties including the dishy celebrity-news site Wonderwall.
“When Lloyd and I founded BermanBraun, we wanted to create a different kind of entertainment company — one that consisted of both TV and Film divisions but also one that established a thriving digital division encompassing content and technology,” Berman said in a statement.
“It has been my pleasure to work alongside Lloyd and our incredibly talented team at BermanBraun and I wish them continued success going forward,” she added.
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