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Paramount Parcels Out David Nevins Turf To Chris McCarthy, George Cheeks And Tom Ryan; CEO Bob Bakish Hails “Invaluable” Run By Departing Exec

Dade Hayes
·4 min read

Chris McCarthy, Tom Ryan and George Cheeks are all seeing their portfolios expand at Paramount Global after the departure of David Nevins.

The chairman and CEO of Paramount Premium Group and Chief Creative Officer of Paramount+ Scripted Series just announced he will step down at the end of the year. Paramount CEO Bob Bakish announced how his turf is being divvied up in a memo to staffers (read it below).

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Showtime Networks are moving into Paramount Media Networks, which is run by McCarthy, while Showtime’s OTT teams will move into Paramount Streaming, reporting to Ryan. BET will now move under Cheeks’ group, as will Paramount Television Studios, where it will continue to operate as a studio alongside CBS Studios.

McCarthy’s official title is president and CEO of Paramount Media Networks; Ryan is president & CEO of streaming; and Cheeks is president and CEO of CBS and head of news and sports content for Paramount+.

Like all media companies, Paramount is navigating through a complex period as the traditional pay-TV bundles continues to shrink and streaming shows steady growth. Paramount recently made the decision to streamline Showtime’s streaming service and offer it in a single app with Paramount+. As a production entity, the company has also had to try to arrive at the best executive structure for managing titles produced both for in-house platforms and third parties.

Here’s Bakish’s full memo:

Team,

Today, we are announcing that David Nevins, Chairman and CEO of Paramount Premium Group and Chief Creative Officer of Paramount+ Scripted Series, has decided to step down from Paramount at the end of the year. Below, I’m sharing David’s note about the news, which he sent to the Showtime team earlier today.

During his decade-plus tenure with our company, David has been the driving force behind Showtime, transforming it into the cultural powerhouse and iconic brand that it is today. He has greenlit and developed some of Showtime’s most acclaimed and popular shows—from beloved favorites “Billions” and Shameless, to more recent hits like Your Honor and Yellowjackets. Indeed, the numbers speak for themselves: since David joined the network in 2010, Showtime has earned a whopping 244 Emmy nominations—and an impressive 33 wins.

As we have seen, David’s leadership, creativity and grasp of what audiences love has not only produced hits—it has helped us grow and define our business during a time of transformation. David has made sure that Showtime remains central to our differentiated, global, multi-platform strategy, all while supporting our incredible teams at BET and Paramount Television Studios as head of the Premium Group. He’s helped grow Paramount+, our flagship streaming service, too, investing in scripted originals like Halo—which has attracted subscribers and driven audience engagement around the world. And for two years as Chief Creative Officer at CBS, he brought his unique expertise and creative acumen to America’s most-watched television network.

In all these ways, David has contributed to the momentum that will continue to drive us forward. I’m so grateful he will stay with us through the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition.

At the same time, this change has also given us the opportunity to more closely align our studios, networks and streaming operations as we execute on our vision and strategy for the future. To that end, we have made additional adjustments to our leadership structure, which we shared with the Showtime team earlier:

  • Showtime Networks will move into Paramount Media Networks, under the leadership of Chris McCarthy.

  • Showtime’s OTT teams will move into Paramount Streaming, reporting to Tom Ryan.

  • BET will now move under George Cheeks’ group, as will Paramount Television Studios, where it will continue to operate as a studio alongside CBS Studios.

Chris, Tom and George will work closely with each of these teams to ensure we continue to create the must-watch content that customers expect and receive from us—across all our platforms, and all the regions we operate.

As we begin this new chapter, I want to once again thank David for his invaluable contributions to our company. I also want to recognize our amazing teams at Showtime, BET and Paramount Television Studios, who continue to produce so many influential series for our fans. I am so proud of the excellence you embody, every single day—and I am so excited for all that’s to come.

Best,

Bob

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