NBC Universal, Inc. is a media and entertainment company formed in May 2004 by the combination of General Electric's NBC with Vivendi Universal Entertainment (part of the French Media Group, Vivendi SA). GE owned 80% of NBC Universal with the remaining 20% owned by Vivendi SA. In 2011, Comcast attained 51% and thereby the control of newly reformed NBCUniversal, by purchasing shares from GE, while GE bought out Vivendi. Since 2013, the company has been wholly owned by Comcast, which bought GE's ownership stake. The company develops, produces, and markets entertainment, news, and information to a global customer base.
NBC Universal owns and operates a United States television network, numerous cable networks, a group of local stations throughout the country, motion picture companies, a number of television production companies, and multiple theme parks.
Law & Order franchise[]
Law & Order[]
The pilot episode for Law & Order was produced to be sold to CBS in 1988, but was rejected by that network. When NBC picked up the series in 1990, the pilot aired as episode six. The show is produced by Universal Media Studios, formerly known as NBC Universal Television Studio, Universal Television, and Studios USA. It has been syndicated on other United States networks since 1994, as well as worldwide. According to news reports in 2005, the Law & Order franchise (including all the different series) generates around $1 billion in annual revenues for NBC Universal and its cable partners (a February 2005 NBC financial presentation states that NBC's share of this revenue (including syndication and advertising) is more than $550 million).
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit[]
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit originally aired on Monday nights at 9 PM ET for the first nine episodes, from September 20 through November 29, 1999. It was then shifted to Friday nights at 10 PM ET on January 7, 2000, and remained in that time slot through the end of Season 4 on May 16, 2003. SVU was placed in its current time slot for the Season 5 premiere on September 23, 2003 Tuesday nights at 10 PM ET and occasionally runs previous shows on Saturday nights at 10 PM ET.
SVU has surpassed, in both ratings and popularity, the original Law & Order television program. This is a rare occurrence in the television industry.
Law & Order: Criminal Intent[]
Law & Order: Criminal Intent aired its first six seasons on NBC. From October 4, 2007, to the end of 2007, new episodes of Criminal Intent could only be seen on the USA; starting January 9, 2008, these episodes were rerun on NBC. In addition, re-runs are aired on the USA and Bravo cable TV channels, and also beginning in the fall, the show will be stripped five times a week in syndication across the country.
Law & Order: Trial by Jury[]
Law & Order: Trial by Jury premiered on Thursday, March 3, 2005, and aired its series finale on Friday, May 6, 2005. Its regular time slot was Fridays 10/9 PM ET on NBC. An additional episode aired on Court TV after the series' cancellation.
Trial by Jury is the first series of the Law & Order franchise to be cancelled, although TV Guide reported at one point that NBC had reconsidered its decision and would pick up the series once again (or hand it off to Turner Network Television, which also airs reruns of the original series).
Law & Order : Los Angeles[]
Law & Order: LA was announced by NBC in early 2010. It was revealed that the series was being developed at NBC Studios, and its air date was set for the end of the year. The series only lasted one season and was cancelled in May 2011.
Law & Order: True Crime[]
Law & Order True Crime was announced by NBC in July 2016. It was revealed that the series would be a true crime anthology series, with the first season being focused on the 1989 Menendez murder case. The series premiered in September 2017.
Despite decent ratings, the series was never renewed for a second season nor was it officially cancelled, making it the first show in the franchise to conclude without an official cancellation.
Law & Order: Organized Crime[]
Law & Order: Organized Crime was announced by NBC in March 2020 after several years of plans for another series in the franchise. The series is a spin-off of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, with Christopher Meloni reprising his role as Detective Elliot Stabler. The series premiered in April 2021.
The series is different from other shows in the franchise, with the series featuring single-arc storylines that takes several episodes to resolve.
NBC in the franchise[]
The magician Dean Holiday had a television deal with NBC before they canceled it in favor of a deal with an illusionist. (CI: Vanishing Act)