New York, NY--Viacom president and COO Mel Karmazin has resigned. Tom Freston and Leslie Moonves have been appointed co-presidents and co-COOs, effective immediately.
Freston is currently the chairman and chief executive officer of Viacom’s MTV Networks unit, a position he has held since 1987. Moonves is currently chairman and chief executive officer of CBS, a position he has held since 2003. He joined CBS in 1995 as president, CBS Entertainment.
Karmazin will stay on for two more months at Viacom to ease the transition. Although he has officially stated he is leaving for "personal" reasons, many in the industry think his resignation has something to do with the longtime tension between him and Sumner Redstone, Viacom chairman and CEO.
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