Two key leaders at CBS are staying in place, with Amy Reisenbach and David Stapf signing new three-year deals with the company.
With the signings, Reisenbach will remain as president of CBS Entertainment, while Stapf will continue to helm CBS Studios. Reisenbach has been head of CBS Entertainment since November 2022 and first began at CBS in 2005, while Stapf has been leading CBS Studios for 21 out of his 26 years with the company.
Both Stapf and Reisenbach continue to report to George Cheeks, chair of TV Media for Paramount, who oversees all CBS divisions and the cable networks. According to an individual with knowledge of the situation, both executives re-upped their contracts prior to the closing of the Skydance-Paramount merger.
The new contracts are a sign of stability at CBS, while numerous other divisions within Paramount have been subject to multiple rounds of layoffs of late. The new Skydance leadership regime is also expected to announce between 2,000-3,000 more layoffs by early November.
As Variety previously reported, Paramount insiders were hopeful that Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison would take a “don’t fix what isn’t broken” approach to CBS, given the division’s continued success under Reisenbach and Stapf.
CBS continues to field some of the most-watched scripted series in all of TV, including “Tracker,” “Fire Country,” “NCIS,” “Matlock,” “FBI,” “Ghosts” and “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage,” as well as reality stalwarts “Survivor” and “The Amazing Race.” Meanwhile, Stapf continues to enjoy a strong reputation in the creative community, with CBS Studios producing the vast majority of the CBS broadcast slate. CBS Studios also serves as the home to the “Star Trek” universe of series produced since 2017 for Paramount+, as well as the “Little House on the Prairie” reboot in the works for Netflix and the comedy series “Murderbot,” which bowed in May on Apple TV+ and has been renewed for a second season.
Deadline first reported the contract renewals.