George Cheeks, who heads Skydance TV, has named his senior leadership team following the completion of the Warner Bros. Discovery deal. The announcement came Wednesday afternoon in a memo to all Skydance TV employees.
The deal has widened Cheeks' responsibilities considerably. His portfolio now covers a number of major cable channels and the largest television studio in Hollywood, in addition to Paramount's existing cable channels and the CBS broadcast network.
The new structure leans heavily on familiar faces, with many executives carried over from the Paramount television leadership team. Warner Bros. Discovery veteran Channing Dungey will stay in charge of Warner Bros. Television Group, which includes scripted, unscripted and animation studios and is home to the Emmy Award-winning series The Pitt. She will also oversee the combined company's cable roster of more than 50 brands, including HGTV, Food Network, TNT, BET and MTV. For cable channels outside the United States, she will report to Cheeks on programming and to JB Perrette on operations.
On the studio side, David Stapf continues to lead CBS Studios, home to NCIS and the recently launched NCIS: New York, described in the memo as the top new series of the broadcast season. See It Now Studios will operate as a label within CBS Studios. Matt Thunell oversees Paramount Television Studios, whose properties include Reacher, its spin-off Neagley, and the Taylor Sheridan universe. Skydance Sports Entertainment will join the studios group following the exit of Jesse Sisgold, with details to follow.
David Berson will continue to run Skydance's Global Sports Group, which oversees live sports across CBS Sports, TNT Sports and WBD Sports. Combined rights for the division include the NFL, UEFA Champions League, NHL, MLB, March Madness, PGA Tour, The Masters, WNBA, NASCAR and college football. Amy Reisenbach continues to lead CBS Entertainment, and Tom Cibrowski will keep overseeing CBS News operations while working to bolster CBS Mornings and sustain ratings momentum at CBS Evening News.
Several executives will support the wider organization. Bryon Rubin becomes chief operating officer, working with divisional leaders on strategic and operational matters while retaining leadership of CBS domestic syndication. He will also oversee the CBS Television Stations group, working with division president Jennifer Mitchell, who will have a dotted reporting line to Cheeks and sit on his senior leadership team.
Laurel Weir will lead research and programming insights across broadcast, cable and studios, and will keep overseeing content strategy, scheduling and acquisitions for the Paramount cable networks during integration planning. Mike Benson will lead marketing across the portfolio, with a dotted line to Skydance chief marketing officer Rebecca Mall. Chris Ender will oversee communications and publicity and serve as Skydance TV's spokesperson, with a dotted line to chief communications officer Melissa Zukerman.
In the memo, Cheeks said the priorities are to deliver great storytelling, maximize the value of programming, franchises and brands, and strengthen connections with audiences. He said he believes a collaborative culture produces strong creative and business results. Acknowledging that employees have questions about the structure, he said more information will be shared when possible and that the company is still early in the process.
