Adam Stotsky leaving as president of E!.

Adam Stotsky is leaving as president of E! and will be existing the entertainment TV channel from NBCUniversal International Networks after just 3 years, with no immediate replacement.

Adam Stotsky was appointed as E! president in February 2016 and has been with the company for 18 years.

Frances Berwick, president of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment's lifestyle channels will take over Adam Stotsky's responsibilities for the time being.

In a note to "Team E!" staffers Adam Stotsky writes that "the past 5 years with E! has been incredible".

Here is Adam Stotsky's note:

Team E! (and colleagues across NBCU),

 

I wanted to share with you that after 18 years I will be leaving NBCUniversal, a company I respect and people I have loved working with.  It’s been a journey of great pride and accomplishment.

 

I feel blessed to have had four distinct lives inside NBCU --  SYFY, NBC, Esquire Network, E! Entertainment.  Each offered a different challenge, yet there was always a passionate and dedicated team ready to rise to the occasion and push the brand and business forward. 

 

The past 5 years with E! have been incredible.  Together we transformed a singular hour of TV news and a popular website into the market-leading multi-platform publisher of pop culture/entertainment news, now delivering over a billion engagements a month.  

We launched our first scripted efforts, expanded E!’s signature live coverage beyond red carpets to our own award show with “People’s Choice Awards” and earned our status in fashion via partnerships with The Met Gala and New York Fashion Week.  And most importantly, we cemented E!’s position as a global pop culture powerhouse.

 

Thanks to our extremely talented team, we have accomplished what we set out to do and E!’s future is bright.   I will be working closely with Frances over the next few weeks to ensure a smooth transition.  It has been an honor and privilege to work by your sides.

 

With respect and gratitude, Adam.

E! dumps 12-year veteran red carpet producer Aileen Gram-Moreno who says E! fired her because she failed to prevent Eva Longoria from talking about E!'s unequal pay and Catt Sadler on air.

The look keeps getting worse and uglier for E! Entertainment (DStv 124) with E! that has fired a producer who has been working on its red carpet coverage for the past 12 years and who says she was replaced by a man because she allowed Eva Longoria on-air to slam E! about its lack of equal pay for Catt Sadler.

Amidst Hollywood's #MeToo movement and controversy swirling around Ryan Seacrest with allegations of sexual harassment that's not going away, The New York Times reports that E! fired producer Aileen Gram-Moreno for not properly sanitising and censoring E!'s coverage of celebrities like Eva Longoria who at the Golden Globe awards called E! out over its trash treatment of Catt Sadler.

Aileen Gram-Moreno says she was supposed to prevent clips from being broadcast on the NBCUniversal channel that was seen globally - including South Africa and Africa, of other stars and Eva Longoria who at the Golden Globe awards said "We support gender equity and equal pay. And we hope that E! follows the lead with Catt as well. We stand with you, Catt."

Aileen Gram-Moreno has now filed a complaint with America's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, saying that she has been unfairly terminated and replaced by a man.

In her complaint, Aileen Gram-Moreno reveals how E! allegedly pre-censors its red carpet coverage to prevent celebrities from saying things E! and NBCUniversal don't want viewers to hear.

Aileen Gram-Moreno says that after Debra Messing sharply criticised E! over its unequal pay with Catt Sadler, E! executives told her to scan all interviews before broadcast to "weed out" any further mentions of Catt Sadler.

"The said, if there's any mention of Catt Sadler in the preshow, make sure you flag it. Aileen Gram-Moreno told The New York Times that E! is "censoring celebrities; it’s just not a good idea in my humble opinion. But it wasn’t my decision."

Aileen Gram-Moreno in her complaints says she was fired 5 days after the Golden Globes from all upcoming shows she had been booked for, including the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the Grammys and the Oscars. "No-one discussed the issue with me before making the decision to terminate me."

Adam Stotsky, E! president, admitted to The New York Times that E! pre-screened and wanted to know ahead of time about any Catt Sadler mentions and said "We don’t agree with Debra Messing’s assertion" and that E! "is not in the business of being a megaphone for an inaccurate story."

Adam Stotsky told The New York Times that Aileen Gram-Moreno was fired because "of a pattern of poor performance".

Weirdly E! and NBCUniversal never once in the past 12 years complained about Aileen Gram-Moreno's work, and actually gave her a performance -based raise 5 years ago.

E! in a statement says "For the past decade Aileen Gram-Moreno was a freelancer who worked an average of 20 days per year solely for our red carpet coverage. After the Golden Globes, she was asked not to return due to job performance issues. Following an attempt to force E! to pay for her silence Aileen Gram-Moreno is now spreading misleading and inaccurate information."

Aileen Gram-Moreno’s attorney, Katherine Atkinson in a statement says "In the 12 years Aileen has been working on red carpet shows for E! they never once raised a performance issue."

"That is a convenient excuse for covering up attempts to silence women speaking out. Employers often attack women speaking out about discrimination - so I am disappointed in E! but not surprised."

"E! can’t have it both ways. They support their position that they were not censoring references to Catt Sadler by pointing to the Eva Longoria interview. But they fired my client for failing to censor that very interview."

"If you attempt to censor, and then fire the person for not catching the speech you intended to censor for letting it go through, you can’t then claim that you aren’t so bad after all because you 'let' it air. Their argument defies logic."

Why E! Entertainment on DStv isn't doing live coverage from the red carpet at the 2017 Oscars or interviewing stars live for the last hour before the annual Academy Awards.

It's something that E! Entertainment (DStv 124) doesn't want to draw attention to and much less wants to explain, but the channel that promises live red carpet coverage from the Oscars every year, has actually stopped providing it to viewers for a full hour before the Oscars ceremony is set to start - doing neither coverage from the actual red carpet, nor live red carpet coverage.

But why?

Viewers who tune in and look carefully (it also happened last year) will notice that the entertainment TV channel from NBCUniversal International Networks stops providing actual live red carpet reporting, live interviews and any live video shots of stars' arrival for the hour before The 89th Annual Academy Awards 2017 starts.

E! was also blocked last year, unable to actually be next to the red carpet and reporting live during the last hour.

This final hour outside the Dolby Theatre is the busiest and most premium red carpet period, the time during which the most high-profile celebrities and stars from the world of entertainment make their red carpet arrival.

The truth is that E! doesn't have the rights (and neither does a lot of other broadcasters and media) with E! that ends up "fooling" viewers in a sense through broadcasting a "reshow" to pad the time until the awards ceremony starts.

Since E! isn't allowed to show any live coverage or interviews from the actual red carpet during the final hour before the Oscars, E! Entertainment does a "red carpet rundown" with presenters discussing and showing clips and photos of stars who had already made an appearance up to that point for a full hour, as well as pre-recorded interviews and inserts.

For the 89th Annual Academy Awards it works like this: E! does E! Live from the Red Carpet: The 2017 Academy Awards from 00:30 - 02:30, then Oscars Red Carpet Rundown 2017 from 02:30 - 03:30.

The awards show starts at 03:30.

Notice that hour from 02:30 to 03:30 that isn't actual live red carpet coverage.

Viewers who look closely will see how Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana Rancic will again - like in 2016 - abruptly cease doing live red carpet coverage at 02:30 and throw to E!'s lesser-known presenters for an hour of padded talk.

On M-Net Movies Premiere (DStv 104) however that carries the official Oscars awards show as well as the official red carpet pre-show, this is where subscribers to MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform actually get to see the little-publicised real red carpet coverage in the hour just before the Academy Awards.

The M-Net Movies Premiere channel shows Oscars Red Carpet Live (00:00 - 02:00), then the final hour of the real red carpet coverage with On the Red Carpet: The Arrivals 2017 (02:30 - 03:30), followed by The 89th Annual Academy Awards 2017 (03:30 - 07:40).

These red carpet pre-shows are done by America's ABC TV network, the same "official" network that in America has the rights and broadcast the Oscars as part of a multi-year deal.

ABC doesn't want E! and others to do competing, live red carpet coverage because ABC paid for the rights to the awards show and the official red carpet coverage pre-show.

The Los Angeles explains nicely why E! and others are being blocked from doing red carpet coverage during the most desired time: that final hour - and it all has to do with broadcasting rights and money.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has now started charging broadcasters and TV channels a massive fee to do red carpet coverage running to thousands of dollars and is also blocking the final hour so that ABC can have it (exclusively).

It means that E! and other media are effectively blocked from any interviews and live coverage with any of the really big stars (because they don't arrive early to stand around and do interviews for that long).

For many years it has been these media like E! since 1990 who helped to hype and build up the Oscars and award show red carpet coverage through their presence, and reporting from it, to what it is today.

Now they're being asked to pay to promote and publicise a media event, and are also blocked from the parts that have the most value.

E! doesn't really want to talk about this sensitive issue that's obviously quite problematic if your name and alphabet TV calling card letter is built on the presumption of providing actual red carpet coverage.

Adam Stotsky, president of E!, told The Los Angeles Times that asked about the issue only that E! is "an important vehicle to reach the millennial audience" and that being barred from the last hour of the red carpet wouldn't hamper E!'s Oscars red carpet coverage.

"E!'s preeminence on the red carpet, combined with Ryan's stature within the community, really makes E! a must-stop destination for marquee stars," said Adam Stotsky.

Adam Stotsky promoted and appointed as president of E! Entertainment; now oversees all day-to-day operations of the NBCUniversal channel.

Adam Stotsky has been promoted and appointed as president of E! Entertainment (DStv 124).

Adam Stotsky was previously general manager of the NBCUniversal International Networks channel. He's now E! president and will continue to be president of the pay-TV channel Esquire Network - a channel aimed at men, that's not available in South Africa and Africa.

Adam Stotsky now oversees all operations at E!.

"Adam Stotsky is an exceptional senior executive who has been successful in leading the teams at E! and Esquire Network and setting their strategic direction for future growth," says Frances Berwick, president of lifestyle networks at NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment.

"I am excited to announce his well-deserved promotion and expand his responsibilities at E! as we continue to build on our success as a multi-platform powerhouse offering exclusive access to celebrity lifestyles and the world of entertainment".

BREAKING. Giuliana Rancic quits as E! News anchor on E! Entertainment after a decade; will continue to do red carpet awards show coverage.

Giuliana Rancic (40) is done as anchor of E! News on E! Entertainment (DStv 124) after a decade but will stay on with the channel as a panelist when Fashion Police starts again, and will continue to do Live From the Red Carpet coverage for E! Entertainment.

Giuliana Rancic who is quitting E! News will be gone from the entertainment news show in less than a month by Monday 10 August.

The past year has been filled with drama for Giuliana Rancic as controversy keeps swirling around her thin frame and weight issues, and her highly controversial racist remarks about Zendaya's dreadlocked hair on the refashioned Fashion Police after the death of Joan Rivers which saw the show derail and panelists like Kelly Osbourne and Kathy Griffin quit in a conflict-filled meltdown.

Then there's rival Maria Menounos who joined E! Entertainment for specials as well as reporting for E! News and who made no secret behind the scenes that she wants to push Giuliana Rancic out and take over her anchor spot in heated competition.

No word yet from E! Entertainment on who will be replacing Giuliana Rancic next to Terrence Jenkins as daily E! News co-anchor.

Chances are good that E! Entertainment will soon announce that it's Maria Menounos who has been plotting a take-over and who has even done red carpet duty at awards shows in the place of Giuliana Rancic, who is credited with the turn-around of E! News which came to the brink of cancellation a decade ago before she took over as managing editor.

"For more than a decade, I was fortunate enough to play a role in the success of E! News and will miss my family at the show," says Giuliana Rancic in a short statement.

"At the same time, I am excited to not only continue as host of two major franchises on E! but also executive produce the aspirational new show Rich in Faith for Oxygen as well as take my wine and clothing lines to the next level."

"This is such a thrilling time for me and I thank the gang at E! for understanding my desire to embark on this next chapter in my life," says Giuliana Rancic.

Giuliana Rancic previously said she and her husband Bill Rancic wants to move to Chicago permanently sometime this year where they have a house,since their son Duke has to start going to school and the couple has been commuting between Los Angeles and Chicago the past three years.

"During her time here, Giuliana Rancic played an instrumental role in building E! News into a global entertainment news powerhouse and, while we will miss seeing her on set every day, we are delighted to continue to work with her on Fashion Police and Live From the Red Carpet," says Adam Stotsky, E! Entertainment general manager in a statement.

BREAKING. Suzanne Kolb out as president of E! Entertainment after just 3 years; Adam Stotsky named E! new general manager.

Suzanne Kolb is out as president of E! Entertainment (DStv 124) after just over three years, telling staff in an internal email that "all good things must come to an end and so must my time at E!".

Adam Stotsky has been named the new general manager for E! Entertainment.

Suzanne Kolb who've been at E! Entertainment for a decade writes to staff that "I know the future for E! shines bright and I look forward to cheering you on as you reach new heights".

During the past year the viewership for Keeping Up with the Kardashians has been falling to lows, Joan Rivers died who powered Fashion Police, several new reality shows were cancelled after just one season each, and Chelsea Handler ended her long-running talk show Chelsea Lately after blasting E! Entertainment as "a sad, sad place to live" and that they "don't know what they're doing".

Suzanne Kolb replaced Ted Harbert in July 2011 at the NBCUniversal pay-TV channel.