TV Entertainment Vet Tellem Moves Aside At CBS; Memo From Moonves
Known for its prime time dramas, CBS (NYSE: CBS) corporate has a little of its own today: Nancy Tellem is leaving as president of CBS Network Television Entertainment Group and will be a senior adviser to CEO Leslie Moonves. The role will not be filled; instead, Nina Tassler and David Stapf will report directly to Moonves. Tellem’s new position includes “business and strategic opportunities” in content partnerships, new production models, developing technologies and emerging media. Tellem has been in the post since 2004 and gets to do do something few TV execs do — leave while her network is in the lead.
Moonves explained it in a staff memo obtained by paidContent and published in full here. The move was first reported by Nikki Finke:
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Memo: Leslie Moones
I wanted to share some important news with you today. This morning we announced that Nancy Tellem, President of the CBS Network Television Entertainment Group, will transition to an important new role in our company as Senior Advisor to the CEO, CBS Corporation. In her new role, Nancy will explore the expanding growth opportunities that are appearing every day in our changing business, both in the U.S. and abroad as well. The appointment will be effective January 1, 2010, and will report directly to me.
In this new position, Nancy will step back from the day-to-day operations and dedicate her efforts to business and strategic opportunities in the areas of content partnerships, new production models, developing technologies and emerging media. In addition to her new responsibilities, she will also continue to oversee CBS