CBS on Tuesday named a new leadership team for its entertainment division. Long-time CBS head of scheduling Kelly Kahl has been promoted to president, CBS Entertainment. The CW’s head of programming Thom Sherman is being named senior EVP of programming. They replace Glenn Gellar, who stepped down as president of entertainment.
Glenn Geller is stepping down from his role as CBS Entertainment president two months after suffering a mild heart attack. Industry sources say CBS has opted to reconfigure its entertainment leadership, with plans to promote longtime scheduling chief Kelly Kahl and recruit Thom Sherman from The CW.
CBS Entertainment President Glenn Geller suffered a mild heart attack recently. The 45-year-old programming executive is said to be in good shape, with a promising prognosis, but he will be taking leave from his job until late May.
Glenn Geller, head of CBS Entertainment, when asked about the network’s lack of diversity in its programming, said: “We need to do better. I understand the inclination to look at leads,” he said. “In the terms of ensemble diversity in our new shows, we are more diverse than we were last year. That’s our commitment to diversity, it’s ongoing.”
CBS Ent. Chief Defends Diversity Record
New CBS Entertainment President Glenn Geller thinks the network is doing just fine on diversity — and he points to himself as an example of that. “I’m just a gay guy from Indiana who doesn’t play basketball,” Geller said today during a TCA panel. “But now I’m the entertainment president of CBS.”
Exclusives
Although Glenn Geller is a 15-year veteran of the network, his promotion to president — from an exec VP role overseeing current programming — was a surprise to the industry. CBS CEO Leslie Moonves, however, says he was the clear choice for the job.
After a decade at the helm of CBS Entertainment, Nina Tassler will be stepping down at the end of 2015. She will segue from her current post as chairman of CBS Entertainment to a CBS advisory role through at least 2017 when her current contract expires. Tassler will be succeeded by Glenn Geller, head of current programming for CBS Entertainment and CBS Television Studios. He has been named president, CBS Entertainment, leading entertainment programming for primetime, daytime and latenight, as well as program development in all genres.
CBS has upped Glenn Geller to EVP of current programming, consolidating the current departments of CBS Entertainment and production arm CBS TV Studios.
