Cyma Zarghami to Step Down as President
Sarah Levy to Lead Nickelodeon on Interim Basis as Search Process
Commences
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun. 4, 2018--
Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA) today announced that Cyma Zarghami is
stepping down as President of Nickelodeon Group after more than thirty
years with the network. While Viacom conducts a comprehensive search for
a successor to lead Nickelodeon, Sarah Levy, Chief Operating Officer of
Viacom Media Networks, will lead the brand on an interim basis.
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Cyma Zarghami (Credit: Justin Stephens Photography)
“Over the course of her career, Cyma has played an integral role in
growing Nickelodeon into the dominant force in kids’ entertainment. Her
instincts for creating content and experiences that kids love have been
vital to the brand’s success around the world,” said Bob Bakish,
President and CEO of Viacom. “Looking to the future, we are excited to
build on this strong foundation as we continue to evolve the business
and connect with young audiences in new and innovative ways. I want to
extend my deepest gratitude to Cyma for her leadership and wish her
every success.”
During the transition, Levy will work closely with Nickelodeon’s
leadership team to manage the brand’s operations. Their focus will be to
successfully launch Nickelodeon’s largest-ever content pipeline of more
than 800 new episodes and accelerate the brand’s push into new and
next-generation viewing platforms, film, live experiences and consumer
products.
Zarghami joined Nickelodeon in 1985 and was named its President in 2006.
Under her leadership, Nickelodeon has become a leading global brand for
kids, spanning linear and multiplatform programming, film, live
experiences and consumer products. Along the way, Zarghami recruited and
cultivated high-performing, diverse talent that always reflected the
next generation of kids, and the brand continues to attract the
industry’s leading creatives and personalities. Today, Nickelodeon has
the highest share of total viewing in kids’ television.
About Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon, now in its 39th year, is the number-one entertainment brand
for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first
in everything it does. The company includes television programming and
production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer
products, digital, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon’s
U.S. television network is seen in more than 90 million households and
has been the number-one-rated kids’ basic cable network for 22
consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com.
Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks
of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB).
About Viacom
Viacom is home to premier global media brands that create compelling
entertainment content - including television programs, motion pictures,
short-form content, games, consumer products, podcasts, live events and
social media experiences – for audiences in 183 countries. Viacom's
media networks, including Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., MTV, BET, Comedy
Central, Paramount Network, VH1, TV Land, CMT, Logo, Channel 5 (UK),
Telefe (Argentina), Colors (India) and Paramount Channel, reach
approximately 4.3 billion cumulative television subscribers worldwide.
Paramount Pictures is a major global producer and distributor of filmed
entertainment. Paramount Television develops, finances and produces
original programming for television and digital platforms.
For more information about Viacom and its businesses, visit www.viacom.com.
Keep up with Viacom news by following Viacom's blog at blog.viacom.com
and Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/viacom.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180604006203/en/
Source: Viacom Inc.
Viacom Inc.
Press:
Justin Dini, (212) 846-2724
Senior
Vice President, Corporate Communications
Justin.Dini@viacom.com