He oversaw the launch of “The Real World” and “Road Rules,” as well as the VMAs, “Movie Awards” and “Unplugged.” In his initial tenure at MTV, he came over from CNN as a fledging producer and rose to become the President of MTV Productions, and an architect of the brand’s leap from music videos to original programming. Name some of the most indelible hits in our history, and they’ve probably got Doug’s name in the credits and his creative fingerprints all over them. In all the time I’ve known Doug, he’s never been an easy act to follow. The brands in that Group will report directly to me moving forward. Below is the note that he sent out today to his teams in the Music and Entertainment Group. I wanted to share the news that Doug Herzog, President of the Music and Entertainment Group, is leaving Viacom next month. Here is Bakish’s complete memo on Herzog’s exit: National Amusements president Shari Redstone and the rest of the Viacom board of directors were convinced that Bakish had the right combination of industry savvy and institutional knowledge to lead Viacom to better days. The Herzog shuffle comes barely a week after Bakish secured the permanent CEO gig and after Viacom and CBS called off the merger discussions that had been initiated by National Amusements, the holding company that controls both congloms. At the same time, Viacom’s cable group has seen its ratings and affiliate revenue decline amid the broader industry challenges, which has added to the sense of urgency around bold restructuring moves.
Herzog is a well-loved exec among the Viacom rank and file, having grown up at MTV and having led Comedy Central to new heights in the 1990s. In addition to serving as Viacom CEO he is also CEO of its Global Entertainment Group encompassing the music and entertainment group channels along with TV Land and CMT. Bakish has been with Viacom since 1997 and spent the past decade heading its successful international channels group. In the weeks since, Bakish is said to have become impressed with the three leaders who had been working under Herzog.īakish’s move to eliminate the Herzog management layer is in keeping with the decisive leadership style that convinced the Viacom board to grant him the permanent CEO job. When Bakish was named Viacom’s acting CEO in October, he immediately restructured the management of the cable operations, dividing the channels among Herzog, Nickelodeon Group chief Cyma Zarghami and BET chairman Debra Lee. Bakish is looking to give McCarthy, Alterman and Kay more authority to execute their respective visions for the channels. Sources said Bakish decided it made sense for the channels to report directly him at a time when the company is looking to reinvigorate its cable business and respond to the rapid changes in viewing habits that are putting pressure on all major cable programming groups.
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