Peter Chernin’s Company Signs with UTA for TV

Peter Chernin has landed at UTA.

In what is one of the TV business’ biggest signings of the year, the agency’s managing director Jay Sures and TV department head Matt Rice now will represent the former News Corp. COO in television. 

The news comes nearly a year after Chernin left rival WME, where his company had been repped for two years. Soon after, reports surfaced that he had had a falling out with co-CEO Ari Emanuel. A yearlong — and ultimately successful — pursuit on the part of UTA followed.

Chernin Entertainment has proved prolific in TV thanks in part to significant production commitments baked into Chernin’s News Corp. exit package. Through 20^th Century Fox TV, where he has a rich nonwriting executive producer deal, Chernin and his TV president Katherine Pope produce New Girl as well as the since-canceled Ben and Kate and Touch.

New Girl was singled out at Fox’s upfront presentation to advertisers Monday because it has been selected to get the coveted post-Super Bowl slot in 2014, a vote of confidence on behalf of the network. Chernin Entertainment had two projects in contention earlier this pilot season: the comedy Two Wrongs and the drama Delirium, starring Emma Roberts, both at Fox.

Chernin also has a robust film business, producing such recent hits as Oblivion and Rise of the Planet of the Apes. He is not represented by an agency on the film side.

Email: Lacey.Rose@THR.com; Twitter: @LaceyVRose