Seth MacFarlane, one of television’s most successful producers, is singing a new tune.
The creator of “Family Guy,” “American Dad!,” “Ted” and “The Orville” is leaving his longtime home at 20th Century Fox Television, which bet on MacFarlane when he was just a recent college graduate trying his hand at animation.
On Friday, NBCUniversal said it was going into business with MacFarlane with a multiyear production deal for new TV shows. MacFarlane, however, will be free to shop film projects to other studios while his signature TV show “Family Guy” will continue to run on Fox.
Financial terms were not disclosed. However, the NBCUniversal deal is valued at slightly less than $200 million, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly. Incentives were built into the contract that could boost that amount.
