• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, July 5, 2007

It's hard to remember a higher-profile executive joining the network programming fray. From a spellbound press to the chattering classes in Pacific Palisades to the NBC minions looking for a morale and ratings boost, the spotlight on Ben Silverman is similar to the one that surrounded his now-ultimate boss, Jeff Immelt, when he replaced Jack Welch in 2001 as GE head.

But there's one difference, perhaps necessary  to attract top talent in Hollywood, but perhaps a bit of hubris: the demure Immelt seemed eager to tone down expectations.

In a job where failure is de rigeur -- a small percentage of new series make it and, worse, spectacular failures such as "Studio 60" tend to create a long-time reputation thorn -- Silverman doesn't seem particularly interested in measured, it's-not-going-to-happen-overnight-talk about elevating a fourth-place network.

He's saying he's got a plan -- not to challenge ABC's "October Road" or "Brothers and Sisters," but the seemingly unstoppable "American Idol." He's already caused a stir with his  first proposed show: not some benign sitcom, but one with the attention-grabbing moniker "Without Breasts There is No Paradise," involving the power of a sizable chest, prostitution and drug dealing. And apparently, he's flat-out tabbed himself no less than the "Rock Star Chairman." (No word if GE would allow a title change from his current more banal co-chairman of NBC's entertainment operations.)

Further, he didn't mince words when he opined on how lucky NBC is to have him take the pay cut that came from leaving his production company Reveille, where he produced notable successes in "The Office" and "Ugly Betty," and lesser lights in "The Biggest Loser" and USA's "Nashville Star."

"I was being pursued by a bunch of different opportunities," Silverman reportedly said when he took the post.

It all seems like Immelt promising an annual 50% return, rather than taking his I'm-just-trying-to-have-half-the-success-Jack-did approach. With Silverman's swagger comes the potential for an I-told-you-I-could-be-Houdini or a meltdown, the likes of a Katie Couric or Steven Spielberg's "On the Lot."

Silverman seems as if he'll either be Brandon Tartikoff or Susan Lyne.

"This will be either a spectacular success or a riveting failure," a rival executive told the Los Angeles Times. "There will be no middle ground."

And the media seems to have done nothing to dampen the air of inevitable success both Silverman and his direct report Jeff Zucker seem willing to foster. (Zucker has much riding on the would-be wunderkind becoming another Tartikoff, since Zucker jettisoned Silverman's reasonably successful predecessor Kevin Reilly just months after signing him to a new contract; that buyout surely wasn't Ovitz/Disney stuff but probably could have kept some of the 750 people who've lost their jobs at NBC Universal on board.)

Take these quotes:

"Hollywood has been captivated by the sudden arrival of this charismatic 36-year-old party boy," wrote the Los Angeles Times.

"Ben Silverman has been a prime mover of prime time during the past decade, instigating more than a few game-changing deals and shows," said Variety.

It seems the main hurdle for Silverman is whether he can transition from his previous role as producer at Reveille, where he could pick and choose the best ideas without pressure to successfully program 19 or so prime-time hours a week.

He's also got to prove that he can guide the development of novel, homegrown dramas and comedies. For while "The Office" and "Ugly Betty" are classified as hits, both were successes in other countries that Silverman simply imported and tinkered with. In fact, the first-year of "The Office" was hardly tinkered with at all and essentially a facsimile of the British version, down to the dialogue and plot lines. And while Silverman did tap into the zeitgeist of country music's growing appeal, "Nashville Star" is essentially an "American Idol" knockoff.

Perhaps the biggest feather in his cap as far as reading the American ethos is "The Biggest Loser," where he found a way to tap into the Atkins-ZoneDiet-SouthBeach craze and creatively spin it into a oft-touching reality show. The show has proven to be only a moderate hit, but again is on the NBC fall schedule.

"Loser" also employs much of what was originally Reveille's raison d'être, to create shows flush with opportunities for advertiser integration and product placement. But one of his early gambits, "The Restaurant," with American Express and Coors, didn't find much viewer hunger. Another major flop was "Coupling," a big-time "Friends"-like hit in the U.K. that NBC was counting on as a Must-See-TV anchor.

But while the media scrutiny of Silverman isn't likely to cease during his first year or so at NBC, the executive has some advantages, particularly the best of both worlds vis-à-vis Reilly. Silverman will be able to benefit from Reilly's smash hit "Heroes," while not having to take any of the blame for any failures of the five new dramas.

Plus, he's got time, maybe even to keep partying. The first important test will come when he presents his first full fall schedule next May.

In a meeting with analysts last month, Zucker said NBC had $900 million in profit in 2004 when it finished first, while its fourth-place finish  last year brought only $100 million. "We've already taken the big hit," Zucker said. Now, simply, Silverman needs to deliver not the hype, but the hits.