People

Sussman, EVP, specials, music, live events and alternative programming, CBS Entertainment, is stepping down but will remain in business with the network as an exec producer of both The Tony Awards and The Kennedy Center Honors.

The company ups more than 30 executives. CEO Chris Ripley recognizes “their outstanding contributions, we also reinforce our commitment to cultivating and promoting top-tier talent within Sinclair as we continue to evolve and transform our organization.”

The new president of CBS News has been accused of using her clout to promote minorities while unfairly sidelining white journalists — a “woke” and “divisive” practice that sparked multiple employee complaints and a major internal probe in 2021. Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews — a 30-year veteran of the third-place network who took the helm last August after her boss Neeraj Khemlani left in a storm of controversy — also had been top deputy to ex-president David Rhodes, who exited CBS News in January 2019 following a slew of high-profile scandals. Current and former employees say they are chafing over the promotion of Ciprian-Matthews, who is now the top-ranked woman of color at CBS News.

Rodgers returned to ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday for his weekly appearance and addressed comments he made the week before that appeared to suggest Kimmel’s name might appear on a list of associates of Jeffrey Epstein, a millionaire accused of sex trafficking involving underage victims before he died by suicide. “Any type of name calling is ridiculous and I’m not calling him (a pedophile), and neither should you,” Rodgers said on the show Tuesday.

30 Rock creator and star Tina Fey is returning to the small screen with The Four Seasons, based on the 1981 feature film, which she co-created with fellow 30 Rock alums Lang Fisher and Tracey Wigfield. The high-profile comedy project, which marks Fey’s first TV starring role since 30 Rock, was taken out to the marketplace just before the holidays. In a very competitive situation with multiple bidders, it landed at Netflix with an eight-episode series order.

Lionsgate Alternative Television will encompass the studio’s unscripted TV brands like Pilgrim Media Group, Blackfin, Renegade, Daisybeck Studios and more recently Entertainment One after the acquisition of key film and TV assets from Hasbro.

After serving as head of genre development at the e-commerce giant/streamer, Wax has joined Disney and will serve as EVP international original television and report to Eric Schrier, president of Disney TV Studios and global original TV strategy. (Photo courtesy John Duarte)

The streaming veteran is tapped to fill a newly created role “working closely with the executives of News, Stations, CBS Media Ventures, Sports and all other studio and division heads,” according to Wendy McMahon, CEO of CBS News and Stations.

Station managers, a new role at Scripps, help with the station’s day-to-day operations and serve as department heads. The latest additions are Whitney Grover, KJRH Tulsa, Okla.; Autumn Jones, WFTX Fort Myers, Fla.; and Vicki Bradley, WTXL Tallahassee, Fla.

The Emmy-winning anchor of Inside Edition will be honored during the foundation’s Golden Mic Gala and Fundraiser in March.

He moves up from the company’s sports and digital offerings to oversee sales and revenue growth strategies for all of Sinclair’s television stations; networks, including Tennis Channel; and Compulse, Sinclair’s marketing technology and managed services company.

Kevin Negandhi may not be the most controversial sports host at ESPN — no one’s heard him slam executives on air or suggest he needs a higher salary — but he is making a name for himself as one of the show-iest. There may be no format or program that Negandhi cannot handle. He may get the chance to try his hand at a few more things in months to come. ESPN has extended Negandhi’s contract so that he will celebrate more than 20 years at the Disney sports-media giant under his next term.

The former NAB executive will oversee the company’s “comprehensive legislative and regulatory strategy to support the policy and advocacy goals.”