Turner names TNT, TBS boss

US-based Turner Broadcasting has appointed the former chairman of Fox as president of its networks TNT and TBS.

Kevin Reilly, who will also take up the newly created role of chief creative officer for Turner Entertainment, will report to David Levy, president of Turner Broadcasting.

Reilly’s remit at TNT and TBS will see him oversee production, digital and development divisions, as well as marketing and scheduling affairs. He replaces Steve Koonin, Turner Entertainment Networks’ president, who exited in April, and Michael Wright, who left in August and had looked after programming for the two networks.

Part of Reilly’s role as chief creative office will see him chair a group that will seek cross-platform opportunities between TNT and TBS, as well as Turner siblings truTV and Adult Swim.

Levy said the creation of the new role was “central to my model for more aggressively engaging in the war for content,” which will attempt to identify and secure programming across Turner’s entertainment brands.

Reilly left Fox in May having segued from president of entertainment at NBC to the same job at Fox in 2007.

He was then promoted to chairman of entertainment in August 2012 and led the network’s push to move away https://www.c21media.net/fox-to-end-pilot-season/ from the traditional pilot season programme development model, before leaving the firm to be replaced by industry veteran David Madden. Before Fox, Reilly also held management roles at sibling FX, as well as NBC.

His appointment comes amid widespread changes at the broadcaster, which is slashing its global workforce by 10%, resulting in almost 1,500 job losses at 18 locations around the world.

The cuts come after Turner CEO John Martin, who joined in January, outlined plans over the summer to streamline the business as part of his ‘Turner 2020’ initiative.

Last year, Turner trimmed almost a third of its staff in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and a similar proportion in the Asia-Pacific region.