| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
CBS signs CEO Leslie Moonves to new contract
Monday April 14, 2003LOS ANGELES (AP) CBS Television has signed chief executive officer Leslie Moonves to a new five-year deal that moves him up to chairman as well.
The current contract, under which Moonves serves as president and CEO, was to expire next year. The new agreement runs through 2007, Daily Variety reported Monday.
Sumner Redstone, chief executive officer of CBS parent company Viacom Inc., and Viacom president and chief operating officer Mel Karmazin wanted to keep Moonves and sought an early contract agreement, Variety said.
A CBS spokesman declined Monday to comment on contractual matters.
Moonves, 53, formerly with Warner Bros., joined CBS in 1995. He was named entertainment chief in 1998 and now controls areas including news, sports, sales and marketing. He has oversight of the UPN network.
Under Moonves, money-losing CBS became profitable. The network is expected to wrap up the 2002-03 season as the most-watched.
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