Viacom and CBS are preparing to make major shifts to their creative leadership as part of their upcoming merger, and at least two top executives are on their way out.
Kent Alterman, longtime head of Comedy Central, will be exiting the company as part of the leadership changes. His network will be overseen by Chris McCarthy, who will become president of entertainment and youth brands, adding TV Land, Paramount Network and Smithsonian Channel to his portfolio. McCarthy already oversees MTV, VH1, CMT and Logo and will report to ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish.
Along with Alterman (pictured above), Viacom Media Networks COO Sarah Levy will also be leaving with no replacement selected. Levy oversaw business operations for Viacom’s networks starting in early 2018 and had worked at Viacom for 20 years, mostly as COO of Nickelodeon.
CBS chief creative officer David Nevins will oversee Viacom’s BET Networks in addition to CBS and Showtime, Viacom and CBS said on Monday. Marc DeBevoise, CEO of CBS Interactive, will oversee digital operations for both CBS and Viacom. CBS Television Studios and Paramount Television will continue to operate independently after the merger closes in early December.
Additionally, Nickelodeon President Brian Robbins will add Awesomeness to his oversight. That makes sense as Robbins cofounded the multi-platform media company back in 2012.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the shakeup.
Tony Maglio contributed to this story.