Streaming Overseer At CBS Moves On -- WSJ
November 05 2019 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
By Benjamin Mullin
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (November 5, 2019).
Jim Lanzone, the head of CBS Corp.'s Interactive unit and the
architect of the broadcaster's video streaming strategy, is leaving
CBS as it prepares to merge with sister company Viacom Inc.
Mr. Lanzone will be succeeded as chief executive of CBS
Interactive by Marc DeBevoise, the president and chief operating
officer of the unit. Mr. Lanzone will stay at CBS until the end of
the year, after which he will join venture-capital firm Benchmark
Capital as executive-in-residence.
CBS Interactive, which Mr. Lanzone joined in 2011, encompasses
much of the company's digital operations, including the video
streaming service CBS All Access, the streaming news channel CBSN
and portfolio of websites including CBSSports.com and CNET. The
unit's digital properties drew 190 million unique views in
September, according to Comscore, making it one of the largest
internet brands in the U.S.
Mr. Lanzone's departure comes as Viacom and CBS are in the
process of combining their operations for the merger, which is
expected to close later this year. Wall Street hasn't reacted well
to the merger, with Viacom and CBS shares down more than 20% since
the August announcement.
Viacom and CBS have yet to articulate a direct-to-consumer video
streaming strategy that encompasses the combined company's TV and
digital properties, which will be vying for online viewers
alongside rivals that are launching their own expensive streaming
services. Last week, Bloomberg News reported that AT&T Inc.'s
WarnerMedia purchased the rights to South Park, one of the
longest-running shows on Viacom's Comedy Central channel, for
between $450 million and $500 million.
Write to Benjamin Mullin at Benjamin.Mullin@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 05, 2019 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)
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