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HomeIndustry SectorVeteran Exec David Nevins Stepping Down From Key Role at Paramount; Read...

Veteran Exec David Nevins Stepping Down From Key Role at Paramount; Read His Outgoing Memo

David Nevins, the former Showtime boss who currently serves as the chairman/CEO of Paramount Premium Group as well as Chief Creative Officer for Scripted Series at Paramount+, is stepping down from his expanded role a little over a year after his duties were increased on the Melrose lot.

As a result, Chris McCarthy, Tom Ryan, and George Cheeks will all see their oversight expand, as outlined in a memo from Paramount CEO Bob Bakish that you can find beneath Nevins’ own memo below.

With the dust now settled, Showtime Networks will be moving into Paramount Media Networks, which McCarthy runs, while Showtime’s OTT teams will be integrated into Paramount Streaming, and thus report to Ryan. Meanwhile, Paramount Television Studios will continue to operate as an individual studio alongside CBS Studios, but it will now move under Cheeks’ group, as will BET.

This move comes on the heels of Paramount’s decision to fold Showtime’s streaming service into Paramount+.

The Wall Street Journal broke the news of Nevins’ exit on Thursday, while Variety provided Nevins’ exit memo to his staff and Deadline provided Bakish’s memo, which you can find below:

Dear Team,

I am writing this morning, so you hear the news from me that I’ve made the decision that the time is right for me to step down from my post atop the premium group at the end of the year.

The good news is that it’s not immediate and I’ll be helping to figure out the details of the transition.

I am tremendously grateful for the past 12 years and the varying positions I’ve held at this company. It has truly been one of the great joys of my life to get to do what I love to do with all of you. Together, we’ve accomplished an enormous amount. Year after year, we’ve managed to make and launch shows that defined the zeitgeist, that excited, delighted, and moved our audiences, and that received adulation and awards from our peers. 

Love of good storytelling, being excellent, showing up and being passionate about what you do, that is what all of you have brought to the table day in and day out.  When I spent a year abroad in Glasgow during college, I studied film for the first time and the kids there truly could only dream of being able to tell stories on such a grand scale to a worldwide audience. I realized the great privilege of being American was that after graduating I could take my grandmother’s old Buick, drive to LA and give the dream a shot — no green card required. And you all have helped make that dream a reality.

Most of all, I’m so proud of the team we’ve put together. To those of you who predate my arrival, to those of you who have joined in the past decade and to those of you who I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with only since the merger: thank you. We’ve built a culture of integrity, respect, collaboration, and risk-taking creativity. Together we’ve transformed our entire business model over the past few years. And we’ve been able to attract some of the most talented creative people on the planet to come work with us. 

I am also immensely thankful for the support of Bob and Shari as well as my colleagues on Bob’s leadership team. Their personal commitment to the success of this company and the achievement of our individual goals are what you can only hope for from your leadership.

So why now? Quite simply, over the past several months I’ve come to the conclusion that I am ready for the next phase of my life and my career. The industry is transforming rapidly, and I am genuinely excited about what the future holds. Most importantly, the leadership team led by Jana Winograde, Gary Levine, Scott Mills, and Nicole Clemens are more than ready. The 2023 slate is set, and I believe the coming year’s schedules from Showtime, BET, and Paramount Television Studios are going to be the most ambitious and exciting group of shows we’ve ever put out in a single year. I can’t wait to watch it happen.

Know that I will be here during this transition to support each of you to the best of my ability. I very much look forward to our continued relationships because at root that’s what’s best about working in this industry: the relationships we build with each other. That and the sheer joy of serving our audiences with stories that glue them to their screens.

Thanks to all of you.

David

And now for Bakish’s memo:

Team,

Today, we are announcing that David Nevins, Chairman and CEO of Paramount Premium Group and Chief Creative Officer of Paramount+ Scripted Series, has decided to step down from Paramount at the end of the year. Below, I’m sharing David’s note about the news, which he sent to the Showtime team earlier today.

During his decade-plus tenure with our company, David has been the driving force behind Showtime, transforming it into the cultural powerhouse and iconic brand that it is today. He has greenlit and developed some of Showtime’s most acclaimed and popular shows — from beloved favorites “Billions” and Shameless, to more recent hits like Your Honor and Yellowjackets. Indeed, the numbers speak for themselves: since David joined the network in 2010, Showtime has earned a whopping 244 Emmy nominations — and an impressive 33 wins.

As we have seen, David’s leadership, creativity, and grasp of what audiences love has not only produced hits — it has helped us grow and define our business during a time of transformation. David has made sure that Showtime remains central to our differentiated, global, multi-platform strategy, all while supporting our incredible teams at BET and Paramount Television Studios as head of the Premium Group. He’s helped grow Paramount+, our flagship streaming service, too, investing in scripted originals like Halo —which has attracted subscribers and driven audience engagement around the world. And for two years as Chief Creative Officer at CBS, he brought his unique expertise and creative acumen to America’s most-watched television network.

In all these ways, David has contributed to the momentum that will continue to drive us forward. I’m so grateful he will stay with us through the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition.

At the same time, this change has also given us the opportunity to more closely align our studios, networks, and streaming operations as we execute on our vision and strategy for the future. To that end, we have made additional adjustments to our leadership structure, which we shared with the Showtime team earlier:

  • Showtime Networks will move into Paramount Media Networks, under the leadership of Chris McCarthy.
  • Showtime’s OTT teams will move into Paramount Streaming, reporting to Tom Ryan.
  • BET will now move under George Cheeks’ group, as will Paramount Television Studios, where it will continue to operate as a studio alongside CBS Studios.

Chris, Tom, and George will work closely with each of these teams to ensure we continue to create the must-watch content that customers expect and receive from us—across all our platforms, and all the regions we operate.

As we begin this new chapter, I want to once again thank David for his invaluable contributions to our company. I also want to recognize our amazing teams at Showtime, BET, and Paramount Television Studios, who continue to produce so many influential series for our fans. I am so proud of the excellence you embody, every single day — and I am so excited for all that’s to come.

Best,

Bob

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