Logo

Variety

CBS’s Legendary Marketing Chief to Step Down — Replacement Named

Sep 18, 2019  •  Post A Comment

CBS is getting a new head of marketing, with the living legend who has been with the network since 1972 working on his departure. Variety reports that George Schweitzer will “take on the role of chairman of marketing at CBS and transition in the Spring into an adviser to the company.”

Taking over for Schweitzer will be Mike Benson, another veteran of the TV-marketing game. Variety reports that Benson will join CBS in October after working as head of marketing for Amazon Studios since 2015.

“A veteran of ABC, Benson has been among the pioneers using the Super Bowl to launch new streaming-video premieres, including the debuts of Amazon’s ‘Jack Ryan’ and ‘Hanna.'” Variety reports. “He has also served as chief creative officer of the Time Warner Global Media Group and executive vice president of marketing for the ABC Entertainment Group, where he helped draw attention to series ranging from ‘Desperate Housewives’ and ‘Lost’ to ‘Modern Family’ and ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live.’”

Variety notes that Schweitzer “has enjoyed a broad career out of a very narrow practice. He finds new ways to get people to watch more TV.

“Those methods can range wide. He once tucked a paper-thin interactive video player into the pages of Entertainment Weekly so readers could sample new CBS shows. He got supermarkets to use a technology known as ‘Visual Ice’ that would fog up freezer doors in supermarkets with tune-in information about a new CBS drama, ‘Moonlight.’ He had logos from CBS shows laser-encoded on more than 35 million eggs to promote the network’s 2006-07 season.”

George Schweitzer (CBS)

Your Comment

Email (will not be published)