Jeff Shell is about to shatter some windows.
In a big shakeup, Comcast late Monday tapped Shell to lead its Universal Pictures unit with an eye toward upending the traditional film business, in part by shrinking the release “windows” for movies.
“One philosophy is they need to look at windowing and move it [earlier],” a source close to talks said.
For years, a just-released movie has followed a well-worn distribution path, spending time exclusively in theaters before becoming available on DVD, video-on-demand and finally TV.
However, cable giant Comcast, which took control of NBCUniversal in 2010, has shown more willingness to experiment.
In 2011, Universal tried to make “Tower Heist” available to some home viewers a mere three weeks after its debut in theaters — much to the chagrin of theater owners, who feared the collapse of distribution windows.
The studio abandoned the plan after exhibitors threatened a boycott.
Shell will have to tread carefully as similar experiments could unleash more anger among exhibitors, industry sources said.
Shell will also try to smooth the transfer of movie projects to TV outlets in the same way Disney is doing with ABC’s Marvel project, “The Shield,” sources said.
Shell, who previously oversaw Comcast’s regional sports nets and smaller cable channels like E!, G4, Golf Channel and Outdoor Life, is no stranger to striking distribution deals or tough negotiations.
“Shell’s their numbers guy,” said one source. “You understand why they put him there.”
Still, his thin resume on the creative side of the movie business is raising some eyebrows in Tinseltown.
Shell is set to meet top talent agency chiefs in the coming week to sell his vision for Universal Filmed Entertainment’s digital and traditional movie business.
A source close to company said it was too soon to say what the plans are. A Universal spokeswoman wasn’t available for comment.