Some industry executives have wondered why Silverman would walk away from Reveille just as it was turning a big profit.
"If I was all about money, I would have taken the job that Goldman Sachs offered me when I was 22 and I would be very rich," Silverman said. "But it's not all about the money. I'm still living in a two-bedroom rental. A very nice two-bedroom" (on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica).
Says his longtime lieutenant Owens: "He's wanted this job at NBC since he was 12 years old."
That was in 1985. The son of an avant-garde chamber music composer and a TV executive, Silverman was enthralled by a cover story in New York magazine about Brandon Tartikoff, then programming wunderkind at NBC. Running NBC became Silverman's career ambition.
After graduating magna cum laude from Tufts University, he drove to Los Angeles in 1992 in an un-air-conditioned Volkswagen to pursue his dream. He soon shifted his career onto the fast track, working briefly at CBS, Warner Bros. and Marvel Entertainment before joining William Morris Agency as a talent agent.
While at William Morris in London, Silverman secured the rights to several British shows, including "Weakest Link" and "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." Disney bought "Millionaire" and the show became a mega-hit for ABC.
In 2002, Silverman left William Morris to launch Reveille. His first big bet, "The Restaurant," quickly established him as a Hollywood producer. Silverman recruited chef Rocco DiSpirito and television's biggest reality show producer, Mark Burnett, to make a program that would pull the curtain back on the chaotic opening of a New York restaurant.
Instead of divvying up ownership with the other producers, Silverman shrewdly held on to it.
"Ben knew how to control those rights, and that set up Reveille as more than just another production company making money off license fees," Owens said. "Ben built an independent studio, and we had the template for the next deal."
That experience also proved to advertisers that Silverman would feature their products prominently in his shows.
"He's very user friendly for advertisers," said Bill Cella, vice chairman of media buying firm Draftfcb. "He's got great creative skills and he thinks about how to sell products. I think he'll be great for NBC."
