CBS chief Joe Ianniello stepping down, to be replaced by George Cheeks
CBS said Chairman and Chief Executive Joe Ianniello will be replaced by NBCUniversal executive George Cheeks following CBS’s megamerger with Viacom.
The C-suite shuffle will place Cheeks, most recently vice chairman of NBCUniversal Content Studios, in charge of all of CBS’s television business, including its primetime and late-night programming, as well as its news and sports networks.
Cheeks also will work with ViacomCBS’s digital assets, including the CBS All Access streaming service, according to a news release. The handoff will be effective March 23, according to a Friday announcement.
“Thanks in no small part to his efforts, the CBS brand has a strong and loyal following across a variety of platforms — positioning it well for this important next chapter,” ViacomCBS president and CEO Bob Bakish said of Ianniello.
Before joining NBC in 2012, the 55-year-old Cheeks worked at Viacom, where he held various roles, including executive vice president of business affairs and general counsel for Viacom Music and Entertainment Group, as well as head of standards and practices for Viacom Media.
Reports of Cheeks’ departure from NBC surfaced two weeks ago. At the time, the news came as a surprise to many in the halls of the company’s headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, as the exec still had many months left on his contract.
As for Ianniello, reports emerged last week that the CBS CEO would leave ViacomCBS this spring. He started as CBS’s acting CEO after his boss, Les Moonves, resigned in September 2018 amid sexual harassment and assault allegations. The company later extended Ianniello’s contract.
Ianniello was Moonves’ longtime No. 2 and supported his efforts to dilute the control that Viacom’s Shari Redstone had over CBS. The two traded messages with TigerText, an encrypted messaging app, that were revealed in court documents, showing Ianniello supporting Moonves in his plight to thwart Redstone.
But Ianniello was nonetheless slated to receive a $100 million windfall after CBS and Viacom merged in December, The Post has reported.
Although sources said Ianniello and Redstone had a collegial relationship while he served as CEO, one source with knowledge remarked that Ianniello and Bakish “did not get along.”
“I now look forward to ensuring a smooth transition to the next phase of leadership of CBS, so that the Eye can continue to thrive, just as it has for so long,” Ianniello said in a statement.