Another broadcast community president is out.
Kelly Kahl, who has been with CBS for practically three many years, is stepping down from his function as leisure president on the community. Kahl will exit at 12 months’s finish as a part of what CBS CEO George Cheeks described as a part of a “restructuring and streamlining of leadership” at CBS Entertainment. A substitute for Kahl has not but been decided.
The news was introduced Wednesday morning with each Kahl and Cheeks sending memos to employees. Read each under.
The news comes as a shock given Kahl’s longtime historical past with CBS and after he was tapped to function leisure president on the community following Glenn Geller in 2017. The longtime Les Moonves exec — he got here with him to CBS after serving as a analysis exec at Warner Bros. TV — rose to the highest after rising to run scheduling for the community. His scheduling prowess helped take CBS from No. 3 to No. 1 by shifting hits like Survivor and CSI to Thursdays because the community challenged, and finally defeated NBC’s former Must-See TV lineup.
The determination to half methods with Kahl comes a month after David Nevins introduced he could be leaving CBS mum or dad Paramount Global at 12 months’s finish following a 12-year run wherein he oversaw Showtime and different divisions on the re-merged ViacomCBS. With Nevins’ shock departure, Paramount divided his obligations to between Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Tom Ryan. McCarthy, who already oversaw linear networks together with MTV, Comedy Central and Paramount Network, added duty for Showtime. Cheeks added Paramount TV Studios and BET to his purview, and streaming chief Ryan added Showtime’s streaming operations.
In yet one more signal of how little broadcast networks matter to their mum or dad corporations within the streaming period, Kahl turns into the third community chief to depart this 12 months. The CW CEO Mark Pedowitz, who had been broadcast’s longest-tenured topper, was pushed out earlier this 12 months after the community was offered to station group Nexstar; and Fox CEO Charlie Collier shocked his colleagues along with his transfer to run originals at Roku.
One seemingly candidate to switch Kahl might be Thom Sherman, the previous CW exec who was promoted to help Kahl at CBS with scripted duties. Sherman at present serves as senior govt vp programming at CBS Entertainment and had reported on to Kahl.
Here’s Kahl’s memo to employees:
cbs buddies,
the wondrous and inconceivable journey that began for me right here 26 years in the past has come to the end line. i’ll be leaving CBS on the finish of this 12 months.
it has been an absolute honor and privilege to work at CBS, america’s most watched community. (i’ll by no means get sick of listening to that.) i’ve lived a TV fan’s dream to work with essentially the most gifted writers, producers, and actors in tv. most significantly, i’ve cherished being within the trenches alongside all of you — the best executives and staff in present enterprise. i need to thank each single individual with whom i labored in your nice efforts, creativity, and professionalism, all of which helped make this great, pioneering community #1 for practically 20 straight years. this place is particular and so are its folks.
i began right here as a scheduler after we have been in 3rd place and cherished battling into 1st, however i’m particularly pleased with our accomplishments throughout my run as leisure president over the previous 5 years; we delivered tangible enhancements in variety and inclusion in entrance of and behind the digicam, held our groups collectively and centered in the course of the pandemic, and launched quite a few hit collection that maintained CBS #1 standing.
i’ve been lucky to develop robust friendships with lots of you and can cherish recollections of nice adventures at upfronts, press excursions, location shoots, closing fours and tremendous bowls. i hope and belief these bonds will proceed going ahead.
my highest to all of you. it’s been an impressive trip and that i’m excited to see what’s subsequent. till then, i hope to see you on the underground…
i’m shopping for.
fondly
kelly
And right here’s the memo from Cheeks:
Team – I would like you to concentrate on a big transition that’s occurring immediately. As a part of a restructuring and streamlining of management at CBS Entertainment, Kelly Kahl, our esteemed colleague and president of the division, might be leaving CBS by the tip of 12 months.
Below is the notice that Kelly despatched to his staff this morning. We’ll have extra details about the brand new management construction very quickly, however proper now I actually need to deal with Kelly and the unimaginable legacy he leaves at this community.
Kelly is with out peer within the broadcast tv enterprise. He is the architect of primetime schedules which have made CBS #1 for 19 of the final 20 seasons. He is the masterful and fearless scheduler who moved SURVIVOR and CSI to Thursday, altering the panorama of that evening after a decade of NBC dominance.
As Entertainment president, he launched hit reveals equivalent to THE NEIGHBORHOOD, THE EQUALIZER, NCIS: HAWAI’I, three FBIs, FIRE COUNTRY and GHOSTS and has been the passionate steward of CBS’ hit actuality franchises. More broadly, Kelly has been a fierce advocate for the vitality of broadcast tv whereas being a gradual and revered community chief by way of the great instances in addition to turbulent durations.
Without query, Kelly has devoted the final 26 years to constructing CBS and leaves it positioned for even additional success. He has been humble, gracious and beneficiant along with his friends each step of the way in which.
On a private notice, I need to thank Kelly for being a valued colleague and sounding board over the previous two and a half years.
Please be a part of me in heartily thanking Kelly for all of his contributions to CBS and in wishing him all the very best sooner or later.
George
