NBC is ending the year with its first season-long primetime win in the coveted Adults 18-49 demographic since 2004—also known as the year “Friends” went off the air.

And if the folks in Burbank were downright giddy heading into the annual Upfronts presentations to advertisers last week in New York, they largely have Bob Greenblatt, the NBC Entertainment chairman to thank.

Variety this week does a deep dive on the reasons for Greenblatt and the network’s success since he took the reins in January 2011, following nearly a decade of senior execs going through the revolving door at NBC.

One of the biggest takeaways? The newfound success means lot of more money for NBC:

“The swing is worth hundreds of millions of dollars over time,” NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke told Variety. “CBS, ABC and Fox have made $500 million to $1 billion more than NBC (in past years) because we were in fourth place.”

A major factor in the new success at NBC has been Greenblatt’s ability to restore staff morale and pride at a company that had been beset by palace intrigue, office politics, and jockeying for positions as the revolving door at the top kept spinning.

But the sale to Comcast has also ushered in a new feeling that the owners actually care about putting out a quality slate of programs and are “happy to own an entertainment company,” as NBC latenight and alternative boss Paul Telegdy told the trade.

Which isn’t to say that Greenblatt hasn’t had a few stumbles—picking “Smash” as a tentpole early in his tenure is flagged as one, although he spins that as being “creatively daring” when NBC needed to show it could take risks.

But his later programming picks—especially “The Blacklist"—combined with a style the avoids micro-management, have helped NBC make its way to its current position as King of the Broadcast Hill.

The challenge now lies in maintaining that momentum. “The Blacklist” is going to have to remain strong in order to keep NBC at the top.

And the suits have already acknowledged that the long-running Thursday Night Must See TV comedy block needed a re-think. “The Blacklist” is moving to Thursday nights post-Super Bowl to help dial down the comedy a bit on its traditional home on the network.

As NBC enters the summer, it’s turning its attention to new live and event offerings that can continue to drive live viewership and mimic the success of last Thanksgiving’s “Sound of Music” live with Carrie Underwood.

Read More: Variety

Brief Take: Even without the Olympics this year NBC would have come out on top in the demo. But they need more than “The Voice,” “The Blacklist,” and live musicals if they’re going to maintain their current momentum and stay up top.

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