Top CBS News Digital Executive Christy Tanner To Depart

Christy Tanner, the executive vice president and general manager of CBS News Digital, is leaving the network, after playing a central role in the expansion of the division’s streaming service CBSN.

“It’s been eight years since I joined CBS Interactive, five years since I joined CBS News Digital, and … never years since I took some solid time off,” Tanner wrote in a memo to staffers on Thursday.

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“The fact is I haven’t wanted to miss a minute of the incredible opportunity it has been to work with you – building CBSN into the leading streaming news service, transforming CBS News Digital into a powerhouse and establishing news as a pillar of CBS All Access, Paramount+ and Pluto.”

No successor has been named, but her exit comes on the heels of the combination of the news and stations divisions, led by Neeraj Khemlani and Wendy McMahon.

George Cheeks, president and CEO of CBS Entertainment Group, said in his own memo that Tanner “and her world-class team have established CBS News Digital as the marketplace leader in streaming news innovation, expanding our breaking news, editorial and reporting capabilities while continually setting growth records. I am grateful to Christy for leading my deep dive on CBS News Digital and continuing to make it a crucial part of our overall news offering.”

CBSN has been unique among network streaming services in that they include local streams, the latest being CBSN in Sacramento, the 11th. All of the networks have put a focus on expanding content for their streaming services, with greater emphasis on promoting viewership. In her memo, Tanner wrote that the fourth quarter of 2020 and first quarter of 2021 were up 102% year over year.

Tanner previously was CEO of TV Guide Digital, and was an executive at The Washington Post Company, Wolters Kluwer and Reed Elsevier. Variety first reported on her exit.

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