MCA Inc. on Sunday ended a two-month search for a top TV executive by naming Fox Television executive Greg Meidel as chairman of its MCA Television Group.
Meidel, whose appointment had been expected throughout Hollywood, is president and chief operating officer of Fox's Twentieth Television unit, which oversees such activities as non-network production and distribution.
Meidel replaces Tom Wertheimer, who resigned in late August, and reports to MCA President Ron Meyer. Meidel, whose Fox contract was to have expired this coming February, said his starting date is still being worked out.
Boosting MCA's lagging television business has been a top priority for both Meyer and Edgar Bronfman Jr., chief executive of MCA corporate parent Seagram Co. In June, Seagram bought 80% of Meidel
MCA from Japan's Matsushita Electric Industrial for $5.7 billion.
MCA has been weak in such areas as comedy, despite boasting the hit series "Coach."
A native of Danville, Ill., Meidel, 42, is known as a top television salesman and marketer of programs. The main question raised by Hollywood executives is how much Meidel can contribute to the creative end of the business.
But in an interview Meidel said that he can make a creative contribution, adding that his experience at Fox has given him a good feel for what works on TV.
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| Greg Meidel & Fox |
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