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EXCLUSIVE: Keyes Hill-Edgar, a 25-year Viacom/Paramount Global veteran, is leaving as Chief Operating Officer at Paramount Media Networks & Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios. He just notified his colleagues of his departure in a company memo, which you can read below.
Hill-Edgar joins Chris McCarthy, Paramount Global Co-CEO and President of Showtime/MTV Entertainment, who is leaving when Skydance’s acquisition of Paramount Global is completed tomorrow, July 7, with his responsibilities divvied up among George Cheeks, Dana Goldberg and Cindy Holland.
Two other top executives on McCarthy’s team, Nina L. Diaz, President of Content and Chief Creative Officer for Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios, and Liza Burnett Fefferman, EVP and Head of Communications for Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks, also are departing.
In his role as COO, Hill-Edgar oversaw business planning, operations and strategy for all content developed by the studios as well as the brands of Paramount Media Networks: MTV, Showtime, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, Smithsonian Channel, CMT, TV Land, Pop and Logo.
He worked on a number of high-profile deals, most recently on the new five-year overall pact with South Part creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone and an exclusive streaming agreement for the show on Paramount+. He got a shoutout by Stone when the deals were announced last month.
“Trey and I and the whole South Park crew are grateful for this extension and this deal,” he said. “We want to thank Chris McCarthy and Keyes Hill-Edgar for years of great partnership and are looking forward to continuing to make South Park for the next five years.”
Hill-Edgar worked with all key talent at the studio, including Taylor Sheridan, who shared with Deadline how Hill-Edgar convinced him to make Yellowstone prequel 1883 in record time so the series could launch the rebranded Paramount+.
In his note to staff, Hill-Edgar reminisced about being a young associate at Shearman & Sterling who in 2000 was invited to join Viacom after working on the Viacom/CBS merger.
He went on to hold multiple business affairs and legal affairs positions at the company, including SVP, Deputy General Counsel, Assistant Secretary as well as EVP, Global Business Affairs and General Counsel of Viacom Media Networks.
In his farewell email, Hill-Edgar acknowledged his longtime boss McCarthy, Mike Fricklas, who recruited him back in the day as well as “the incomparable Myrna Sterling,” his executive assistant for his entire 25-year Viacom/Paramount tenure.
Here is the full memo:
Almost exactly 25 years ago, as a young law firm associate who had just finished closing the Viacom/CBS merger, I was thrilled to be asked to join the corporate legal team at Viacom. After merging, demerging and remerging the companies, and countless other deals, matters, hours, people and Spindrifts later, it is time to go.
Although tempting to list out all the successes of these years, what stands out at this moment above all else is the people, both internal colleagues and external partners. As we collectively navigated multiple revolutions of the media business, the one constant has been identifying top creative and executive talent, and then giving them the room they need to do their thing. That has resulted in a collection of very special relationships, and I look forward over the next few months to letting each of those people know individually how much they have meant to me and to our world.
As I say goodbye to Paramount and reflect on the many fantastic people with whom I have worked, I wanted to call out three in particular: Mike Fricklas, who recruited me and then opened the door of entertainment for me; Chris McCarthy, who opened all the other doors for me and welcomed me into the best team in the business; and the incomparable Myrna Sterling, who was assigned to be my executive assistant on August 21, 2000, and, for every minute since then, has given her immense skill, grace and professionalism to all of us.
I am extremely grateful to everyone who shared some or a lot of their time and talents with me over this quarter century – thank you. I genuinely wish all my colleagues, partners and the company great success in the future with these very special brands, shows and businesses.
Keyes
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