A CBS network shaped by Moonves is challenged without him
NEW YORK — For the past two decades, CBS may just as well have been called the Moonves Broadcasting System. Now it’s time to move on.
Moonves, who was ousted over the weekend as head of CBS Corp. amid a continuing investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct, began working as the network’s entertainment division president in 1995 and built it into the corporation’s profitable crown jewel.
CBS is a throwback at a time of rapid changes in how people consume television. Moonves believed in broadcasting as the word was conceived, trying to reach the broadest possible audience with a formula that emphasized mystery procedurals and classic sitcoms. CBS has been America’s most-watched television network for the past 10 seasons in a row, and 15 of the past 16, with Fox winning once at the height of “American Idol” mania.
“That’s one of the reasons CBS has been so successful — a singular vision coming from one person,” said Garth Ancier, former chief programming executive at NBC, Fox and the WB network, who also worked with Moonves at the Warner Brothers studio.