NBC today renamed its Owned-and-Operated Stations Group to the NBC Local Media Division. The division’s president, John Wallace, said the new name better reflects the group's mission to be a full-service local content provider for today's digital platforms and underscores its ability to provide 360° integrated marketing solutions to the local marketplace.

Wallace also announced two key leadership positions within the organization. Brian Buchwald has been named senior vice president, local digital media and multiplatform, and Mark French has been named senior vice president and general manager of NBC Everywhere, a new unit focusing on the company's growing digital place-based network. Both appointments are effective immediately and report directly to Wallace.

"Our stations produce local content for a multitude of platforms beyond their primary channels, including broadband networks in a variety of genres, multiple digital channels, and various media platforms outside of the home," said Wallace. "NBC Local Media better reflects the full scope of our capabilities, as well as our ability to offer clients a fully-integrated, local media solution across the full portfolio of our assets."

In his new role, Buchwald will be responsible for developing new business models and enterprises, including joint ventures, investments and partnership opportunities, that extend NBCU's expertise in local media to a broader geographic footprint. He will also work closely with the group's general managers to ensure that the core stations business remains dominant in the growing multi-platform media environment. In addition, he will explore alternative content production models, as well as new formats and channels for local content distribution.

As general manager of NBC Everywhere, French will focus on expanding NBCU's presence on alternative distribution platforms through strategic content and advertising partnerships with a focus on NBC's local markets. He will also work closely with NBC Universal's sales and marketing groups to integrate the digital out of home offerings into NBCU's 360-degree offerings. French will also work closely with the NBC Agency and local stations to program the various Out of Home channels.

Buchwald previously led the distribution partner network for hulu.com and also served as the general manager of nbbc (National Broadband Company), a digital joint venture that he co-developed and helped launch in September 2006. He joined NBC Universal in 2005 as vice president of strategy and business development, where he played key roles in the company's acquisition of iVillage.com and the digital partnership between Telemundo and Yahoo.

Prior to that, he led business development efforts at DoubleClick and PointRoll Inc., and also advised AT&T Wireless on the successful launch of its e-commerce division and several private equity firms on new digital ventures. He began his career in 1997 as an investment banker in the Morgan Stanley Technology Group in Silicon Valley.

French rejoined the NBCU Television Stations in 2005 as director of multimedia sales and strategic marketing, responsible for developing multi-media marketing initiatives for the NBC stations. In 2006 he was promoted to senior director, strategic partnerships, where he secured local and national content and advertising deals with groups including the PRN Supermarket Network, Clearchannel Taxi and the Fuelcast Gas Station Network, forging the company's strategic expansion in the out of home television market.

Before that, French worked at independent WRNN Westchester, N.Y., where he was vice president of sales & programming for two years. He also served as the business development and marketing manager for KNSD, the NBC O&O in San Diego, and held sales positions at both stations.