01h
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Feature
Story
Leslie Moonves, Pres. & CEO
of CBS Corporation. ••••
Leslie Moonves
was born
October 6, 1949 in New York City
and grew up in Valley
Stream, New York. He attended
Valley Stream Central High School
and went to Bucknell University,
graduating in
1971.
In his sophomore year he
realized he hated the sciences,
so he switched his major to
Spanish and acted in a few
plays.
••••
He landed a few television
roles, playing tough guys on
Cannon and The Six Million Dollar
Man, before deciding on a career
change. In
1978 he married- Marriage
Nancy Wiesenfeld and divorced in
2004. He is
married to television and
news personality Julie
Chen. Career ••••
Les Moonves is President
and Chief Executive Officer of
CBS Corporation, as well as a
member of the Company's board of
directors. In this role, he
oversees all operations of the
company, including the CBS
Television Network, The CW (a
joint venture between CBS
Corporation and Warner Bros.
Entertainment), CBS Television
Stations, CBS Television Studios,
CBS Studios International, CBS
Television Distribution,
Showtime, CBS Radio, CBS Outdoor,
Simon & Schuster, CBS
Interactive, CBS Consumer
Products, CBS Home Entertainment,
and CBS Films.
••••
Prior to the Viacom
separation in 2005 Moonves served
as Co-President and Co-Chief
Operation Officer of Viacom and
Chairman of CBS overseeing all of
Viacom's domestic and
international broadcast
television operations, radio
division and outdoor advertising
operations.
••••
Moonves was promoted to
Chairman and CEO of CBS in 2003,
and prior to that, was President
and Chief Executive Officer, CBS
television, a position he was
elevated to in April 1998. He
joined CBS in July 1995 as
President, CBS Entertainment.
••••
Under Moonves' guidance,
CBS has maintained its dominance
as America's #1 TV network, while
the Showtime pay cable network
has significantly increased its
viewership, subscription fees and
critical acclaim under his watch.
The 2008 acquisition of CNET has
made CBS one of the country's top
10 Internet companies. Mo has
also been at the forefront of
realizing subscription fees for
broadcast networks through
retransmission consent
agreements, and has developed new
ways to distribute and monetize
content on new and emerging
platforms worldwide. His move to
consolidate the company's local
TV and radio stations has helped
the company become a leader in
local media, and he has
spearheaded Simon &
Schuster's move into the eBooks
marketplace.
••••
He joined CBS from Warner
Bros. Television, where as
President, he oversaw a
television division that supplied
the greatest number of programs
to network television for nine
consecutive years, culminating in
a record-setting 22 series
(including "ER," "Friends" and
"The Drew Carey Show") on the
1995-96 network schedules. He had
been President of Warner Bros.
Television since July 1993, when
Warner Bros. and Lorimar
Television combined operations.
From 1989 to 1993, he had been
President of Lorimar Television.
He Joined the company in 1985 as
executive in charge of its movies
and mini-series, and became head
of creative affairs in 1988.
••••
Earlier in his career,
Moonves was Vice President of
movies and mini-series for
Twentieth Century Fox Television,
where he was also in charge of
first-run syndication and
pay/cable programming. He had
previously been Vice President,
development, for Saul Ilson
Productions ( in association with
Columbia Pictures Television )
and a development executive for
Catalina Productions. Upon
graduation from Bucknell
University, Moonves pursued an
acting career at New York's
Neighborhood Playhouse, studying
under the renowned Sanford
Meisner. He performed in numerous
stage and television productions
before opting to produce plays on
Broadway and in Los Angeles.
••••
Moonves is on the board of
trustees of the Entertainment
Industries Council. He is a
trustee of the National Council
for Families and Television and
of the American Film Institute
and is past president of the
Hollywood Radio ad Television
Society. He is also a co-chair on
The Paley Center for Media's Los
Angeles Board of Governors. In
March 2003, Moonves was honored
by the International Radio and
Television Society as the
recipient of the Gold Medal
Award, one of most prestigious
honors in media and
entertainment. Since joining CBS,
Moonves has also been named
Variety's Showman of the Year and
Entertainment Weekly's Most
Powerful Man in Hollywood and
received the Casting Society of
America's Career Achievement
Award. He is also a past
recipient of the American Jewish
committee's Sherrill Corwin
Award, given to outstanding
leaders in the entertainment and
communications industry.
•
101 HRTS Newsmaker Luncheon
Series - "A Conversation with...
Leslie Moonves, CBS.
-- Les Moonves, CBS
chief executive and ever the
optimist and TV's biggest
cheerleader addressed the
broadcast model, technology and
CBS Films at the Hollywood Radio
& Television Society (HRTS)
Newsmaker Luncheon Series
(usually group panels discussing
the state of the entertainment
business) as he was interviewed
by Variety Media Columnist, Brian
Lowry.
/•••///
During the one-on-one, the two
men discussed everything from
Netflix, the 2012 election, Blue
Bloods and the value of its
demographics and a quip about the
"Two and a Half Men"
behind-the-scenes drama.
the state of the entertainment
business) as he was interviewed
by Variety Media Columnist, Brian
Lowry. "I think
the broadcast model is better now
than it was five years ago ••••
because there are all of these
places to take your content," he
said, acknowledging that he's
been listening to the "networks
are dying" rants for as long as
he's been in the business. As he
sees it, technology has been a
friend to the content business.
"It's a good thing for content
providers."
••••
What's more, he said, "broadcast
advertising is strong," which CBS
has long been more dependent on,
with a windfall expected to come
from the 2012 election.
"Sometimes the amount of
contention going on in Washington
is a very good thing for our
business."
A
self-described "TV
guy,"
he didn't share equal enthusiasm
for his battling film division.
"I don't think it was the wrong
strategy; I think it was the
wrong films," he said, referring
to its focus on mid-budget fare.
He added of the five films, three
of which he says broke even:
"They aren't movies that I'm
proud of… none of them are
going to be nominated for Academy
Awards."
••••
The CBS chief was similarly
realistic about the state of the
network's morning show, which
announced yet another anchor
shakeup earlier this week, when
CBS News chairman, Jeff Fager
announced that effective Jan. 9,
the PBS interviewer Charlie Rose
will join anchor Erica Hill for
the 7 a.m. "The Early
Show," the network's
long-suffering morning news
broadcast. Talk show host Gayle
King will lead the 8 a.m. hour on
the broadcast, which will be
given a new name and be marketed
as a more serious alternative to
the popular morning shows on NBC
and ABC. "To do a
poor imitation of the Today show
or [Good Morning America]
is not the way to go,
so they're going to do something
different," Moonves says of a
potentially very profitable
day-part.
••••
When Brian asks, "Do you see
yourself getting paid for shows
much beyond what you already
are?" "There's no question," says
Les. "We use this phrase a lot -
the content food chain. The
biggest piece of that is still
broadcast advertising revenue.
Then the second piece is
syndication both international
and domestic, then you get into
the Netflix of the world, the
retrans, etc., etc., etc. These
are all good businesses. When you
look at a show you look at it
holistically now. When you look
at a show like 'Blue Bloods' not
just what it's making on Friday
night but you look at what it's
making internationally, what it's
going to make domestically, what
Netflix will pay for that show -
or Amazon or anybody else - when
it goes off the air. This is a
good way of looking at it."
••••
Moonves used the HRTS platform to
defend what has been labeled the
"CBS formula," an older skewing
lineup of high-performing
programs. He bashed the media for
calling the 18 to 49 demographic
the "only" one advertisers are
interested in reaching and to
further his case, he pointed to a
"very profitable" CBS show like
Blue Bloods, which he said CBS
sells based on a 25 to 54 demo or
in some cases total viewers. "As I've
always said, even when we were in
desperate last place, just basing the world
on 18-49 is an untrue measure...
we don't sell our schedule solely
to 18-49. We sell it all sorts of
different ways. The average age
of the '60 Minutes' viewer is 63
years old. There are no 20 year
olds or 30 year olds watching '60
minutes.' He adds, "I think the
baby boomers have gotten bigger,
they've gotten older, I think our
attitudes is always... a big hit
is watched by everybody, even the
big 18-49 year olds. 'American
Idol' is not only watched by
18-49, it's watched by 80 years
old and it's watched by 15 years
old, it's watched by everybody.
So the idea of programming just
for a niche audience by a
broadcaster is silly.' What
he'd like to have more of, of
course, is sports. But without the sub
fees that a cable rival like ESPN
can derive, he recognizes that
there's slim chance of that
happening -- even with the $250
million retransmission fees
expected to come in in the next
year. "ESPN has a perfect model,"
he said. "They paid $1.7 billion
for one game a week,18 to 19
games a year. That's a lot of
money."
••••
A show like 'Blue Bloods' does
11-12 million a week, cites
Lowry. Do you ever see a day when
you'll be able to get more income
for those viewers over 50?
"Absolutely," says Les. "'Blue
Bloods' is a very profitable
show. As you said,
demographically it doesn't do
that well but, by far, it's by
far the highest rated show in
terms of viewers on Friday
night... you sell where your
strength is. 'Blue Bloods' will
be at Friday night at 10 o'clock
for a long, long time."
••••
As for the evening news division,
Moonves said he was pleased with
Scott Pelley's evening newscast,
which has seen its ratings rise
in post Katie Couric. Still, he
added, "the news division is
never going to be a major profit
center, but we wouldn't be a
network without it." Moonves
pleased with finally closing the
door on the "Two and a Half
Men" behind-the-scenes
drama. The one hour interview
couldn't be rounded up without
questions regarding the show,
when Moonves quipped, "Things
happen. Shit happens -- things
you don't want to happen,"
adding: "It was unfortunate…
I'm glad that it's a chapter
that's closed. It just wasn't
fun. It's no good when there's
rancor; it's no good when you
have lawyers involved in a TV
show."
••••
"I'm happy Charlie has a show
with a good showrunner at a very
good studio, Lionsgate. He's
going on, we wish him well. I'm
more than happy how well Ashton
has done. The numbers are
terrific and I'm glad it's a
chapter that's closed. Monves
adds that show could last with
its current numbers for many,
many years.
••••
As to online content, "Watching
online needs to be made to
count," Les says of the number of
people who don't watch on their
televisions. "That's the idea for
the future and that's what I hope
happens." Put on
the good programming, they come
and you will make a
fortune.
••••
In looking ahead to the next
12-18 months, asks Lowry, what
would Les say the industry should
keep an eye on?
••••
"The biggest challenge is
we hope Netflix stays strong and
alive. The biggest conflict, the
thing that faces all these
companies is continue to
[find] great talent and
be smart about how to sell it in
all different platforms...the
key, and I go back to it over and
over again, put on the good
programming, they come and you
will make a fortune." Les adds "I
think the broadcast model is
better now than it was five years
ago...I think it's going to
continue for a long time. I don't
see in my lifetime being able to
do away with ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox
and CW. I don't see that ever
happening." "Will we
see Les again on this stage in
2016? asks Lowry (
September 2006 was the last time
Moonves did an HRTS luncheon ).
The answer from Les is no. "This
is my farewell appearance at the
HRTS."
//
02
TimeLine
/
Leslie
Moonves •
1949
-
Leslie
Moonves
Born
was born October 6, 1949 in New
York City
and grew
up in Valley Stream, New York. He
attended Valley Stream Central
High School and went to Bucknell
University. •1971
-Graduated from Bucknell
University.
In his
sophomore year he realized he
hated the sciences, so he
switched his major to Spanish and
acted in a few plays. •
1970s
-Upon
graduating, Moonves pursued an
acting career at New York's
Neighborhood Playhouse, studying
under renowned Sanford Meisner.
He performed in numerous stage
and television productions,
playing tough guys on
Cannon and The Six
Million Dollar Man, before
deciding on a career change. •
1978
-
Marriage
to Nancy Wiesenfeld, first wife
of 26 years (m. 17-Dec-1978, div.
2004). •1980
-
Moonves
had upper management experience
early in his business career. He
was in charge of first-run
syndication and pay/cable
programming at 20th Century Fox
Television. Another position he
held at 20th Century Fox
Television was Vice President of
movies and mini-series. Other
previous positions he held
include Vice President of
development at Saul Ilson
Productions (in association with
Columbia Pictures Television) and
a development executive for
Catalina Productions. •
1985
-
Moonves
joined Lorimar Television as
executive in charge of its movies
and mini-serie. •
1988
-
He became
head of creative affairs at
Lorimar Television. •
1989
- From
1989 to 1993, he was President at
Lorimar. •1993
- In July
1993, he became President/CEO of
Warner Bros. Television, when
Warner Bros. and Lorimar
Television combined operations.
While Moonves was president/CEO
of Warner Bros. Television, he
green-lit the hit shows
Friends and ER,
among many others. •
1995
-
He joined
CBS in July 1995 as President of
CBS Entertainment. •1998
- From
April 1998 until 2003, he was
President and Chief Executive
Officer at CBS Television. •2000
-In
2000, Moonves began dating CBS's
The Early Show reporter
Julie Chen and they later in 2004
married in Mexico. •2003
- Promoted
to Chairman and CEO of CBS. He
oversees all operations of the
company, including the CBS
Television Network, The CW (a
joint venture between CBS
Corporation and Warner Bros.
Entertainment), CBS Television
Stations, CBS Television Studios,
CBS Television Distribution,
Showtime, CBS Radio, CBS Records,
CBS Outdoor, Simon &
Schuster, CBS Interactive, CBS
Consumer Products, CBS Home
Entertainment, CBS Outernet and
CBS Films.
••••
Among the
shows that have given CBS a new
lease on life is the CSI
franchise and Survivor. CBS had
six of the ten most-watched
primetime shows in the final
quarter of 2005--CSI; Without
a Trace; CSI: Miami; Survivor:
Guatemala; NCIS; and Cold
Case. •
2003
- During
this time (2003), CBS became
America's most watched television
network, going from last to
first. •
2003
- In March
2003, Moonves was honored by the
International Radio and
Television Society as the
recipient of the Gold Medal
Award, one of most prestigious
honors in media and
entertainment. •
2003
- On April
7, 2003, Moonves portrayed
himself in an episode of The
Practice. •
2004
- On
December 10, 2004, Moonves
marriage to Nancy Wiesenfeld,
with whom he has three children,
ended in divorce. •
2004
- On
December 23, he married
television and news personality
Julie Chen. •
2004
- From
early 2004, Moonves has made
regular contributions to The Late
Show with David Letterman. One of
these appearances was provoked by
David Letterman himself when he
declared outrage that Jay Leno
was featured prominently on the
CBS website in an ad for CBS's
telecast of the People's Choice
Awards. On the Late Show,
Letterman jokingly warned the
"CBS stooge in the control room"
to call his buddies "before
things turn ugly." Leslie
obliged. Later appearances have
taken the same format, with
Letterman discussing current
events and the CBS network with
the company's CEO. On March 8,
2011 Charlie Sheen alluded to
Moonves, saying "less than
goon-ves" during a live segment
of Sheen's Korner. The live
webcast attracted nearly 60,000
visitors. •
2004
- Served
as co-president and co-chief
operating officer of Viacom,
Inc., the predecessor to CBS
Corporation, from 2004 until the
company split on December 31,
2005. •
2005
- CBS had
six of the ten most-watched
primetime shows in the final
quarter of 2005--CSI; Without a
Trace; CSI: Miami; Survivor:
Guatemala; NCIS; and Cold
Case. •
2005
- In
February 2005, Moonves was
identified as the executive
directly responsible for ordering
the cancellation of UPN's Star
Trek: Enterprise and the ending
of the 18-year Star Trek
television
franchise. •
2006
- In
January 2006, Moonves was
instrumental in making the deal
that brought together CBS-owned
UPN with The WB to form the CW
Network. •
2005
- Viacom,
Inc., the predecessor to CBS
Corporation, from 2004 split on
December 31, 2005. •
2005
- Prior to
the Viacom separation in 2005
Moonves served as Co-President
and Co-Chief Operation Officer of
Viacom and Chairman of CBS
overseeing all of Viacom's
domestic and international
broadcast television operations,
radio division and outdoor
advertising operations. •
2006
- On
February 28, 2006, Moonves led
CBS to file a $500 million
lawsuit against Howard Stern for
allegedly breaching his contract
by failing to disclose the
details of his deal with Sirius
Satellite Radio while still
employed by Infinity
Broadcasting. Stern vowed to
fight the suit, and claimed on
his radio program that Moonves,
and CBS, were trying to "bully"
him and his agent, Don Buchwald.
Stern later appeared on CBS' own
Late Show with David Letterman,
wearing a shirt mocking Leslie
and his wife. •
2007
- Moonves
fired Don Imus on April 12, 2007,
eight days after Imus made
comments about the Rutgers
women's basketball team. This was
seen as the politically correct
move by the master politician but
once again at the cost of losing
Imus, similar to having lost the
top-rated Howard Stern Show years
earlier. •
2007
- On June
7, 2006, Stern announced that the
lawsuit had been settled. As part
of the settlement, Sirius
acquired the exclusive rights to
all of the WXRK tapes (over two
decades worth of shows) for $2
million. •
2009
-
September
24, 2009, Julie Chen gave birth
to a boy, named Charlie. •
2011
-
On March 8, 2011 Charlie Sheen
alluded to Moonves, saying "less
than goon-ves" during a live
segment of Sheen's Korner.
The live webcast attracted nearly
60,000 visitors. •
2011
- On November 17,
addressed the broadcast model,
technology and CBS Films at the
Hollywood Radio & Television
Society (HRTS) Newsmaker Luncheon
Series as he was interviewed by
Variety Media Columnist, Brian
Lowry. •
Moonves
resides in the hills above
Brentwood, California. He is the
great-nephew of David Ben-Gurion,
the first Prime Minister of
Israel.
•
•
•
///
