CBS chief executive announces new head of entertainment division

CBS executive Amy Reisenbach has been named head of the network’s entertainment division and will oversee all prime-time, daytime and late night creative departments, CBS president and CEO George Cheeks announced Wednesday.

Reisenbach has been with the network since 2005, starting as manager of current programs for CBS Studios and rising through the ranks in various network and studios programming roles over the past 17 years. She succeeds longtime CBS Entertainment chief Kelly Kahl, who recently announced that he would be leaving his role in December after 26 years.

“Amy is a brilliant, creative executive and an incredible, highly collaborative leader who has worked closely with all parts of the network and our studios partners for many years,” Cheeks said in a statement.

“She is a passionate advocate for writers, producers and the creative process, with proven programming instincts for what it takes to make and sustain highly successful television series,” he said. “She also continues to be a strong proponent for diversity and inclusion and a key figure in the advancements CBS has made in front of and behind the camera in this area.”

This season, the network has seven of the top eight most-watched entertainment shows on broadcast television and 16 of the top 25.

As president of CBS Entertainment, Reisenbach will assume leadership of comedy and drama development, alternative, specials, current programming, scheduling and casting. She will report to Cheeks, the network said.

“I want to thank George, Kelly Kahl, David Stapf and Thom Sherman for being amazing bosses and colleagues, and supporting my growth path to this moment,” Reisenbach said in a statement.

“This network means so much to the people who work here, the writers and producers who call it home, and the viewers who fall in love with our series,” she said. “I’m excited and proud to continue our tradition of excellence that everyone at this network strives to exceed every day.”

Reisenbach was named executive vice president of current programs at CBS in June 2017. In that role, she has overseen creative affairs for all scripted series broadcast on CBS, CBS Studios shows produced for other broadcast networks, CBS Daytime’s talk shows, game shows and dramas, and its Saturday morning lineup.

Reisenbach was senior vice president of current programs from September 2015 through June 2017, supervising all series produced by CBS Studios for The CW, while continuing to work on several shows broadcast on CBS. After joining CBS Studios in 2005 as manager of current programs, she was promoted to director a year later, and named vice president in 2011.

Previously, Reisenbach worked at Warner Bros. Television in the drama development and current departments. She is a graduate of the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Arts in social and behavioral sciences.

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