Wendy McMahon Set as New President and CEO of CBS News and Stations, Media Ventures
Wendy McMahon has been become the new president and CEO of CBS’ News and Stations and Media Ventures units.
In this newly created role and structure, McMahon will now lead all of CBS News’ broadcast and streaming operations, 27 local television stations in major U.S. markets, 14 local news streaming channels and CMV’s first-run syndication programming, as well as its content licensing to television stations and the division’s national advertising sales business.
Programming under her expanded portfolio includes daily and weekly news broadcasts including “60 Minutes,” “Face the Nation,” “CBS Mornings,” “CBS Saturday Mornings,” “CBS News Sunday Morning,” “48 Hours” and “CBS Evening News With Norah O’Donnell” as well as first-run entertainment series including “Jeopardy!,” “Wheel of Fortune,” “Entertainment Tonight,” “Inside Edition,” and “The Drew Barrymore Show.” She will also oversee CBS Radio, CBS Newspath and CBS’ national and local streaming news services.
“At every turn since joining CBS, Wendy has used her unique skill set as an innovator, business operator and people leader to energize operations, support our best-in-class journalism and position CBS for its multiplatform future,” CBS president and CEO George Cheeks said in a statement. “She is a dynamic leader with clear vision who generates forward momentum in every business she touches. I’m excited for the future of CBS News, our local stations and our valuable syndication franchises under her leadership.”
The change comes after CBS Media Ventures president Steven LoCascio said he would be retiring after 34 years at the media giant.
In his role, LoCascio has been responsible for running the network’s first-run syndication arm which producers or distributes series including “Entertainment Tonight,” “Wheel of Fortune,” “Jeopardy!,” “Inside Edition” and “The Drew Barrymore Show,” and distributes the “Judge Judy” and “Dr. Phil” libraries. He also oversees operations of Dabl, the division’s first digital subchannel.
Meanwhile, CBS News and Stations president and co-head Neeraj Khemlani is stepping down from his role to begin a multi-platform first-look deal with the network, developing content including documentaries, scripted series and books for Simon & Schuster.
McMahon has served as president and co-head of CBS News and Stations since May 2021, working alongside Khemlani.
Under her leadership, 11 out of 13 of CBS’ broadcast stations are No. 1 or 2 in late local news and CBS’ Stations’ local streaming channel viewership has climbed over 61% year over year in 2023, with the last 11 months being their highest months to date.
She also expanded CBS’ local news coverage, with the launch of a seven-hour morning news franchise in Los Angeles, and helped establish the CBS Local News Innovation Lab, which creates data-driven investigations and solutions-oriented journalism for local stations and partners with the network for broader coverage.
“It’s an honor to be entrusted to lead as venerated an organization as CBS News, and I’m inspired to continue to support the world’s greatest journalists at this critical moment for our profession. I’m also excited to work with the #1 team in first-run syndication at CBS Media Ventures,” McMahon said in a statement. “I am fortunate to have thousands of talented, dedicated colleagues across these teams to continue the top-notch journalism and productions our viewers expect from CBS.”
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