Viacom Expands Sarah Levy's Role to Include Nickelodeon and BET *Updated*

Viacom has expanded the role of Sarah Levy, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the company's entertainment-focused media outlets, giving her oversight of some functions at Nickelodeon and BET, two networks that were previously not under Levy's in purview – a move that further solidifies her role as one of the company’s top employees.

Sarah Levy, Chief Operating Officer, Viacom

Amid the changes, Nickelodeon president Cyma Zarghami, who has been head of the kid's television network since 2006, will remain in her post and will continue to report directly to Viacom President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bob Bakish. Nickelodeon and BET declined to comment.

Update (2/8): After published reports indicated that a shake-up is imminent at Nickelodeon, Viacom CEO Bob Bakish has insisted that there’s been “no change in leadership” at the kids’ network. See below for the latest update.

Levy, who reports directly to Bakish, is a 20-plus-year veteran of the company. In January 2017, she was named chief operating officer of the company’s global entertainment group, which comprises MTV, Comedy Central, VH1, Spike, CMT, TV Land, Logo and Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN). Now she is adding Nickelodeon and BET to her portfolio. Levy has responsibility for everything from business development to research and production management and also advises on legal affairs, human resources and content distribution.

But that move has raised speculation about leadership at Nickelodeon, one of Viacom’s most biggest and most important units. Cyma Zarghami, who got her start at the Nickelodeon kids’ empire as a scheduling clerk in 1985 and has been the head of the kid-centric network since 2006, is nearing the end of her current contract, according to people familiar with the situation. The Wall Street Journal Tuesday reported that people close to Zarghami and Viacom aren’t certain she will stay at the company beyond the terms of her current employment agreement. Sources have also cited that the Nickelodeon vet has no plans to leave the network. A Nickelodeon spokesperson referred a query to Viacom, which declined to comment. As of now, it seems that she will retain her position as president of Nickelodeon, continuing to oversee linear, digital, mobile and consumer products for Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Nick Jr., TeenNick and Nicktoons.

Cyma Zarghami, President, Nickelodeon Group

Still, her role has been slimmed down in recent years. In February, Bakish took TV Land and CMT out of Zarghami's Kids and Family Group and moved them to Kevin Kay's Global Entertainment Group.

Zarghami supervises an empire that is of top importance to the New York entertainment conglomerate. Its networks, which include Nickelodeon and Nick Jr., have served as relative bright spots for the company, which has worked for several seasons to boost the fortunes of cable perennials like MTV, Comedy Central and BET. Zarghami had, under previous leadership, also been given oversight of CMT and TV Land, but those operations were reassigned after Bakish took up his role in 2016.

Viacom is expected to release an earnings report on Thursday, February 2018. Earlier Tuesday, it was reported that Viacom expected to cut fewer than 100 of its 10,000 employees.

The company recently said that it had formed a committee to explore a new merger with CBS Corp. Both entertainment companies are controlled by the Redstone family’s National Amusements Inc. CBS also said it had formed a similar committee. Shari Redstone, who leads the Redstone family’s interest in both corporations, is believed to want to find ways to gain scale in the media sector as rivals like Time Warner pursue a merger with AT&T and with Walt Disney Co. working to acquire the bulk of the operations of 21st Century Fox.

It's been a little over a year since Bakish took over the Viacom suite and started a massive executive shuffle. Among the moves: Chris McCarthy took over MTV, VH1, LOGO; Debra Lee shifted to become chairman and CEO of BET, while Scott M. Mills took over as president; and Kent Alterman replaced Michele Ganeless as president of Comedy Central.

Nickelodeon, for its part, has been one of Viacom's most stable brands; The network remains the highest rated kids channel, and this past year the network ratings were flat, while competitor Disney Channel saw a 24 percent drop in viewers in 2017. Meanwhile, BET remains the No. 1 network for African-American audiences.

Update (2/8): After published reports indicated that a shake-up is imminent at Nickelodeon, Viacom CEO Bob Bakish insisted that there’s been “no change in leadership” at the kids’ network.

Speaking on Viacom’s 1Q18 earnings call Thursday, Bakish confirmed that Sarah Levy has been promoted to a newly created position at COO of Viacom Media Networks.

“That means we’re bringing all our media networks’ shared services under one structure,” Bakish said. “And to be clear, this is about shared support structure. It is an extension of the responsibilities Sarah has held for the last year, and that extension is to BET and to Nickelodeon. Sarah and each of the brand presidents will continue to report to me and as with our other efforts, the intent here is to streamline our structure, break down silos and assure we are as efficient and agile as we can be.”

Published reports indicated that Levy's new position reduced the influence of long-time Nickelodeon head Cyma Zarghami. The reports also said that Zarghami's contract was due to expire and that it wasn't clear if she'd remain at the company.

Levy and the brand presidents will continue to report to Bakish.

“As with our other efforts, the intent here is to streamline our structure, break down silos and assure we’re as efficient and agile as we can be,” Bakish said.

Levy's appointment comes as Nickelodeon remains number one among kids ages two to 11 and and two to five for the 10th straight quarter, according to Viacom’s Q1 2018 earnings statement. The kidsnet continues to expand its off-screen initiatives through SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical, strong sales of Paw Patrol toys and other consumer products, as well as new offerings such as its SlimeZone VR experience.

Originally published: Wednesday, February 07, 2018.

Sources: Variety, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Broadcasting & Cable (II), Seeking Alpha, Multichannel News, Kidscreen; H/T: Huge thanks to RegularCapital.com for the news!

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