Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks chief operating officer Keyes Hill-Edgar is the latest executive set to depart the media giant following the closing of Skydance’s $8 billion merger on Thursday.
Hill-Edgar is a 25-year Viacom/Paramount Global veteran, who first joined the company in 2000 as Viacom’s senior vice president and associate general counsel. Prior to his current role, he served in senior roles including Viacom Media Networks’ EVP of global business affairs and general counsel and ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks’ entertainment & youth group chief operating officer.
Hill-Edgar has served in his current role since January 2020, overseeing business planning, operations and strategy for all content developed by the studios and brands of Paramount Media Networks: MTV, Showtime, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, Smithsonian Channel, CMT, TV Land, Pop and Logo.
He’s also worked with key Paramount talent, including “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan and “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. The latter recently gave Hill-Edgar a shoutout as Park County reached a $1.5 billion extension of its overall deal for five years.
His responsibilities will be split between New Paramount executives George Cheeks, Dana Goldberg and Cindy Holland.
Other Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios executives exiting include the division’s president and CEO and Paramount co-CEO Chris McCarthy, chief creative officer and content president Nina Diaz and EVP and head of communications Liza Burnett Fefferman.
Additionally, Paramount co-CEO Brian Robbins, Paramount Streaming CEO Tom Ryan and Paramount Motion Picture Group head Mike Ireland are all set to exit.
Read his full memo below:
Almost exactly 25 years ago, as a young law firm associate who had just finished closing the Viacom/CBS merger, I was thrilled to be asked to join the corporate legal team at Viacom. After merging, demerging and remerging the companies, and countless other deals, matters, hours, people and Spindrifts later, it is time to go.
Although tempting to list out all the successes of these years, what stands out at this moment above all else is the people, both internal colleagues and external partners. As we collectively navigated multiple revolutions of the media business, the one constant has been identifying top creative and executive talent, and then giving them the room they need to do their thing. That has resulted in a collection of very special relationships, and I look forward over the next few months to letting each of those people know individually how much they have meant to me and to our world.
As I say goodbye to Paramount and reflect on the many fantastic people with whom I have worked, I wanted to call out three in particular: Mike Fricklas, who recruited me and then opened the door of entertainment for me; Chris McCarthy, who opened all the other doors for me and welcomed me into the best team in the business; and the incomparable Myrna Sterling, who was assigned to be my executive assistant on August 21, 2000, and, for every minute since then, has given her immense skill, grace and professionalism to all of us.
I am extremely grateful to everyone who shared some or a lot of their time and talents with me over this quarter century – thank you. I genuinely wish all my colleagues, partners and the company great success in the future with these very special brands, shows and businesses.
Keyes
