Steve LoCascio, president of CBS Media Ventures (CMV), is retiring after 34 years with the company in its various iterations.
“If you had asked me when I started as controller of King World in 1989 what would the television business look like 30-plus years from then, I would never have guessed that Wheel Of Fortune and Jeopardy! would be the top two most-watched series on broadcast television (or that we’d even have to specify broadcast television) or that Oprah would have retired before me, and we’d find a new generational daytime voice in Drew Barrymore, whom the LA Times dubbed the ‘millennial Oprah,’” LoCascio wrote in a memo to staff that went out Monday morning.
Also this morning, CBS announced that Wendy McMahon has been elevated to sole president and CEO of CBS News and Stations and CBS Media Ventures. She had been president and co-head of CBS News and Stations alongside Neeraj Khemlani, who stepped down August 13. McMahon reports to George Cheeks, president and CEO of CBS.
McMahon will lead all of CBS News’ broadcast and streaming operations, 27 television stations, 14 local news streaming channels and CBS Media Ventures’ first-run syndication programming, as well as its content licensing to television stations and the division’s national advertising sales business.
Cheeks sent out his own memo to staff this morning on LoCascio's departure.
“A career that played a meaningful role in iconic series such as Oprah, Judge Judy, Wheel and Jeopardy! is truly one to be celebrated,” Cheeks wrote in his own memo to staff. “But, even more important is the way Steve did it. He has been a kind, empathetic leader and a smart businessman who rightfully earned the admiration and respect of his team, his bosses and all the stakeholders that CMV services.”
LoCascio was named president of CBS Media Ventures in 2020. During his tenure, CMV launched daytime talker Drew Barrymore and last season, relaunched it as a half-hour show that often ran back to back as one-hour episodes. Long-running series Judge Judy, Dr. Phil and Rachael Ray all concluded their runs in original production during his tenure, while shows such as Entertainment Tonight, Inside Edition and Hot Bench continue on. Besides overseeing CMV’s first-run production, distribution, and advertising sales, he also supervises the operations of Dabl, a digital subchannel produced by the division.
Prior to that, LoCascio was chief operating and financial officer of CBS Global Distribution Group, and was responsible for all business, finance, accounting, administrative and information technology functions for 15 offices around the world.
From 2006 to 2019, LoCascio was executive vice president and chief financial officer of CBS Enterprises and King World Productions. King World and CBS Paramount Domestic Television merged into CBS Television Distribution in 2006 and then became CBS Media Ventures in
In his role, LoCascio is responsible for running the day-to-day operations of CBS Media Ventures, the first-run syndication arm of CBS, which produces or distributes some of the most-watched series on television, including Entertainment Tonight, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, Inside Edition and The Drew Barrymore Show, and distributes the Judge Judy and Dr. Phil libraries.
LoCascio’s oversight includes all first-run station and advertising sales, marketing, promotion, programming and development activities. He also oversees the operations of Dabl, the division’s first digital subchannel, and is responsible for guiding the strategic direction of the team. Previously, he served as Chief Operating & Financial Officer of CBS Global Distribution Group, where he was responsible for all business, finance, accounting, administrative and information technology functions covering 15 offices around the world.
Before that, LoCascio was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of CBS Enterprises and King World Productions, a position he held since 2006, prior to the merger of King World and CBS Paramount Domestic Television into CBS Television Distribution.
LoCascio first joined King World in 1989 as controller, rising to senior vice president and chief financial officer in 1995. He later added responsibilities for CBS Enterprises following the merger with CBS in 1999.
LoCascio graduated with an accounting degree from St. John’s University in New York and is a certified public accountant.
