Meredith Ahr exits NBC after investigation

Meredith Ahr, president of NBC Entertainment’s alternative and reality group, has left the company following an investigation into a “toxic” workplace culture.

Meredith Ahr

Ahr follows former NBC Entertainment chairman Paul Telegdy out the door at the unscripted arm of the US network after allegations of professional misconduct and racist, misogynistic and homophobic behaviour.

The Hollywood Reporter, which broke the news of Ahr’s departure yesterday, said an investigation into a “toxic culture” at the network found that the behaviour of both Telegdy and Ahr was not in line with standards the company expects.

Ahr’s exit comes after NBCUniversal (NBCU) brought its television networks and fledgling streaming service Peacock into one division led by Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBCU television and streaming, in May.

Veteran Warner Bros Television exec Susan Rovner, meanwhile, was recently appointed to the top programming role at the company.

Ahr’s career at NBC began in 2001 when she joined the network as a runner in New York. Her roles ranged from seating audiences at Saturday Night Live to working in the office of the chairman. She made her way to LA in 2004 via the NBC Entertainment Associates Program, where she was placed in the then relatively new alternative programming division.