CBS Interactive boss Quincy Smith, who’s headed new web efforts at the Peacock Network since 2006, will leave the company in January but continue as a consultant for the company. Smith, whose tenure includes the $1.8 billion purchase of CNET, has played that role before as a consultant for Comcast and Google before joining CBS.
Smith oversaw the growth of CNET, BNET, cbs.com, and cbssports.com during his tenure. CBS Interactive is ranked as the ninth-largest global Internet property, with a reach of 200 million people a month. The company is expected to report nearly $600 million in revenues in 2009.
Among CBS Interactive's biggest hits: the ad-supported on demand streaming of the NCAA March Madness college hoops tournament, which thrived during Smith's tenure. Ad revenue for the tourney this year increased some 30 percent from 2008's take of $23 million, and a total of 8.6 million hours of video and audio were delivered through the service, up 70 percent over the viewership in 2008.
For more:
- see this L.A. Times story
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