Aaron Meyerson Named CBS TV Distribution’s President of Programming

Replaces outgoing exec Terry Wood

Aaron Meyerson, who helped develop such shows as “Paris Hilton: My New BFF,” and “Tori and Dean," has been named president of programming and development at CBS Television Distribution.

He'll replace Terry Wood, who helped launch shows including "Dr. Phi" and "Rachael Ray."

Meyerson will be responsible for all first-run development and will oversee such shows as "Entertainment Tonight," "Judge Judy," and "Rachael Ray."

“Having developed hit shows for Oxygen and MTV, Aaron brings a new sensibility to the syndication marketplace. He comes to us with a fresh set of eyes, knowledge of our core female audience and an acumen for creating new financial models for production,” said CBS Television Distribution president John Nogawski, in a statement. “Even with our strong foundation of top-rated shows in every daypart, we cannot stop looking for our next hit."

Wood stepped down in November amid speculation that she would join Oprah Winfrey's new OWN network, given her long relationship with Winfrey-affiliated shows. But the network denied any talks with Wood.

Meyerson joins CBS from the digital media startup Coincident TV, where he was a principal. He spent eight years developing unscripted programming for cable networks.

As senior vice president of alternative programming for MTV Networks, he oversaw development and production of unscripted shows including “Paris Hilton: My New BFF,” “A Double Shot at Love” and “Bully Beatdown.”

As senior vice president of development and production for Oxygen, he developed “Tori and Dean,” “The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency,” “The Bad Girls Club,” “Mo'nique’s Fat Chance” and “Snapped.”

He was previously an executive at New Line Cinema and The Walt Disney Studios, and a producer of such films as “Dumb and Dumber,”  “Inspector Gadget,” “Meet the Deedles” and “Above the Rim.”

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