Cheeks Names New Leaders for Merged TV Empire

George Cheeks finalized the senior leadership roster for Skydance TV on Wednesday. The announcement arrived in a memo to employees after the Warner Bros. Discovery deal closed. The move expands Cheeks' control to include the largest television studio in Hollywood.

His portfolio now covers Paramount's existing cable channels and the CBS broadcast network. He also oversees the cable channels acquired from Warner Bros. Discovery. This includes more than 50 brands such as HGTV, Food Network, TNT, BET, and MTV.

Channing Dungey remains head of the Warner Bros. Television Group. She manages scripted, unscripted, and animation studios. The group produces the Emmy-winning series The Pitt. For international cable channels, Dungey reports to Cheeks on programming and JB Perrette on operations.

David Stapf continues to lead CBS Studios. The studio produces NCIS and NCIS: New York. The memo describes the latter 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, which includes Reacher and its spin-off Neagley.

David Berson runs Skydance's Global Sports Group. The division controls live sports rights for 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. Tom Cibrowski oversees CBS News operations.

Bryon Rubin serves as chief operating officer. He works with divisional leaders on strategy and operations. He retains leadership of CBS domestic syndication and oversees the CBS Television Stations group. Jennifer Mitchell leads the stations division and sits on the senior leadership team. Laurel Weir leads research and programming insights. Mike Benson leads marketing, and Chris Ender handles communications and publicity.

Cheeks stated that the company's priorities are delivering great storytelling and maximizing the value of programming. He said a collaborative culture produces strong creative and business results. He noted that employees have questions about the structure. He said more information will be shared as the company moves through the early stages of the process.