Lloyd Braun (media executive)

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Lloyd Braun (born 1958) has been a creative force behind a number of successful television programs. His first major success came with producer David Chase for their idea for the show The Sopranos.[1] He went on to serve as the Chairman of the ABC Entertainment Group from 2002 to 2004. Braun was fired from his position at ABC shortly after greenlighting the $13 million pilot to the television show Lost, one of the most expensive in modern broadcasting. The show, which was based on Braun's original idea, went on to become a huge success, as did other shows greenlit by Braun and his partner, Susan Lyne, including Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy. These shows began an unprecedented turnaround for ABC.[2]

In November 2004, he joined Yahoo! to run Yahoo! Media Group, the company's content division. Braun's tenure at Yahoo had its ups and downs, with questions arising more than once as to what Yahoo's original content strategy was going to be. He initiated discussions with Mark Burnett for a revival of an ABC Television pilot The Runner, which was ultimately scrapped. He was also credited with the creation of The 9, a new online entertainment show.[3]. Braun's departure from Yahoo! was announced in December 2006.[4]

Recently, Braun partnered with former Fox network executive Gail Berman to form the independent production company BermanBraun. In March 2007, BermanBraun entered into a strategic alliance with NBC to create television programming for which NBC would have a first look. In July 2007, BermanBraun entered into a strategic alliance with Pepsi to create original online programming for which Pepsi would have a first look to sponsor. In December 2007, BermanBraun partnered with producer Thom Beers to exclusively schedule a two hour block of unscripted "docudrama" programming for NBC.

Braun earned his B.A. from Vassar College in 1980, and his law degree from Hastings College of the Law in 1983. He currently serves on the Vassar Board of Trustees, with a seat due to expire in 2010.[5]

Prior to becoming a television executive, Braun practiced entertainment law for 10 years, representing several high profile clients such as Larry David, Howard Stern and David Chase.

[edit] Trivia

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Stevens, Joanna. Yahoo! appoints Lloyd Braun head of media and entertainment. Retrieved on September 28, 2006.
  2. ^ Craig, Olga. "The man who discovered 'Lost' - and found himself out of a job", The Daily Telegraph, 2005-08-14. 
  3. ^ Lloyd Braun gets his TV show. Retrieved on September 28, 2006.
  4. ^ Struggling Yahoo to shuffle management. Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
  5. ^ Vassar College web site. Retrieved on May 15, 2008.
  6. ^ Robins, Max. Finding the Voice of the Web, Part 1. Retrieved on June 18, 2007.
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