Gaspin named President & COO of Universal Television Group.

Jeff Gaspin has been named President and Chief Operating Officer, Universal Television Group. The announcement was made by Jeff Zucker, President and CEO, NBC Universal, to whom he will continue to report.

In this expanded position, Gaspin adds to his responsibilities executive oversight of the Telemundo television network and its 16 owned-and-operated stations and the company’s domestic first-run and off-net syndication efforts. These areas formerly reported to President of NBC Universal Television Stations and Network Operations Jay Ireland, who recently left the company to become president and CEO of GE Asset Management, and Marc Graboff, Co-Chairman, NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios. Don Browne, who oversees Telemundo, and Barry Wallach, who manages first-run and off-net syndication, will now report to Gaspin.

Gaspin will continue to oversee the television group’s distribution including wireless, digital, and cable investments. He also continues oversight of NBC Universal’s entertainment cable networks — Bravo, Chiller, SCI FI Channel, Sleuth, Universal HD and USA Network — and their digital extensions, focusing on areas of programming, marketing, strategic planning, synergy and digital entertainment initiatives.

Said Zucker: “Jeff is one of those rare executives who has both great creative sensibilities and well-developed business acumen. I’m pleased to add to his responsibilities with this promotion and confident he will continue his record of outstanding performance.” Zucker added, “By creating the Universal Television Group, we are simplifying our organization and putting all of the company’s non-NBC television properties under one roof.”

Previously, Gaspin had served as president of NBC Universal Cable and Digital Content since February 2007. Under Gaspin, the NBC Universal entertainment cable division has posted its strongest performance ever, and traffic to all of the television group’s entertainment websites has more than doubled, largely due to video streaming, which he championed.

Before that, he was president of NBC Universal Cable Entertainment and Cross-Network Strategy since 2004. Prior to that, Gaspin served as president of Bravo, where he guided the day-to-day operation, programming, and marketing when the network was acquired by NBC. Among his accomplishments are “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” which was Bravo’s highest-rated show in its 23-year history, and “Project Runway,” which continues to break ratings records for Bravo. Elevating Bravo marked the second time Gaspin successfully re-launched a cable network – in the late 1990s, he led VH-1 to record-breaking performance with the popular “Behind the Music” franchise, which he created.