CBS chief George Cheeks pledges to support team amid chaos and Trump threats

With Paramount Global’s merchantability stuck earlier national regulators and a imaginable colony looming with President Trump successful a quality implicit CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” co-Chief Executive George Cheeks connected Wednesday sought to task a consciousness of business-as-usual.

Cheeks and CBS Entertainment President Amy Reisenbach unveiled the network’s caller primetime docket for reporters astatine Paramount’s Hollywood offices, trumpeting CBS’ primetime winning streak of 17 consecutive seasons.

For the play that ends this month, CBS boasts 8 of the apical 10 primetime shows successful web TV. The broadcaster’s docket of originals towers implicit competitors ABC and NBC. This past year, ratings grew 3% — a uncommon feat successful an epoch of shrinking linear TV audiences.

But that spot has been undermined by the company’s high-profile tangles with Trump, who brought a $20-billion suit implicit edits of a “60 Minutes” interrogation past autumn with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

First Amendment experts person described Trump’s lawsuit, which alleges the “60 Minutes” occurrence was fraudulent, arsenic frivolous. But the president has remained defiant, saying CBS should beryllium punished.

Representatives of Trump and Paramount met with a mediator past week, but determination was nary contiguous solution of the lawsuit. Controlling shareholder Shari Redstone’s tendency to extremity the wrangling with a colony remains a unreality hanging implicit the institution and its sale.

Cheeks acknowledged the turmoil Wednesday.

“This is an unprecedented, challenging clip for the manufacture and for our institution successful particular,” Cheeks told astir a twelve reporters gathered successful a CBS league room. “For me, what’s astir important arsenic a person is however you amusement up successful a hard time.

“ ... My biggest extremity is to marque definite that the squad feels supported and that we admit that we person to absorption connected what we tin control,” Cheeks said. “We’re going to get done this.”

When asked whether CBS News and the radical astatine “60 Minutes” would proceed to bask his support, Cheeks said succinctly: “My full team.”

George Cheeks the astatine Lincoln Center successful New York successful January.

(Kristina Bumphrey / Getty Images)

The struggles with Trump person reverberated passim the institution and prompted interior protests. The enforcement shaper of “60 Minutes,” Bill Owens, resigned past month, citing accrued firm unit implicit quality coverage.

Correspondent Scott Pelley told “60 Minutes” viewers astir Owens’ resignation successful precocious April, noting that journalists had been facing accrued firm oversight.

Since Trump’s suit was filed past fall, “60 Minutes” has remained dogged successful its sum of the Trump administration’s policies.

This past Sunday, Pelley reported connected however Trump has utilized enforcement orders to people instrumentality firms that helium accuses of “weaponizing” the justness strategy against him.

Redstone has expressed vexation with “60 Minutes” for months. She was unhappy with the program’s sum of the Israel-Hamas warfare and its effects connected Gaza. She reportedly has asked Cheeks whether determination were much “60 Minutes” stories coming that could antagonize Trump.

A Redstone spokesperson declined to comment.

When asked however helium would attack a imaginable uprising wrong CBS News should the institution settee with Trump, Cheeks said, “I’m not going to reply that question.”

It’s been 10 months since Redstone agreed to merchantability Paramount, which includes the historical Melrose Avenue movie studio, Comedy Central, MTV and Paramount+, to David Ellison’s Skydance Media, a woody valued astatine $8 billion.

The woody would spot the Redstone household vacating its perch successful Hollywood aft astir 40 years. Ellison and executives with RedBird Capital Partners would instrumentality implicit power of the company. Cheeks is expected to enactment connected successful a high-profile role, sources person said.

But the Federal Communications Commission has lone begun preliminary steps to reappraisal the deal, which insiders had hoped would beryllium finalized by aboriginal this spring.

The 2 sides look an aboriginal October deadline to summation support and adjacent the deal. Paramount needs the FCC to consent to the transportation of CBS presumption licenses to the Ellison family.

If the woody isn’t wrapped by mid-October, either broadside could backmost out. Paramount would beryllium a important break-up fee.

Early this year, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee, opened a nationalist enquiry into the “60 Minutes” Harris interrogation to gauge whether the edits roseate to the level of quality distortion.

The results of the enquiry are pending.

During the presentation, neither Cheeks oregon Reisenbach addressed Trump’s bombshell announcement Sunday that helium planned to enforce 100% tariffs connected movies that are filmed successful overseas countries, saying it was premature to speculate.

Questions swirl astir the feasibility of his proposal, and Trump did not accidental whether tv shows would beryllium included. CBS films respective shows successful Canada.

Cheeks and Reisenbach told reporters their squad was trying to artifact retired the “noise” to absorption connected processing the caller autumn schedule, a consciousness of normalcy that was welcomed wrong CBS’ ranks. Next week begins the yearly upfront income play erstwhile advertisers spot bets connected the assorted web schedules.

“George truly creates an situation wherever we astir consciousness similar we person the abstraction and country to run successful a sound bubble,” Reisenbach said.

CBS announced 8 caller series, including “Marshals,” a caller occidental play from hitmaker Taylor Sheridan, on with different caller shows, “CIA,” “Sheriff Country,” a drama called “DMV” and a state euphony endowment hunt show, “The Road,” with Keith Urban and Blake Shelton.

Donnie Wahlberg, who volition reprise his relation from the CBS deed “Blue Bloods” successful the caller amusement “Boston Blue,” made a cameo quality astatine the presentation, on with Sonequa Martin-Green, who volition co-star arsenic a detective.

The Wahlberg amusement picks up from the beloved Tom Selleck original. “No ‘Blue Bloods’ fans volition beryllium disappointed,” Wahlberg said. There’s besides a bake-off called “America’s Culinary Cup” with Padma Lakshmi and “Harlan Coben’s Final Twist.”