Tanya Giles is stepping down as chief programming officer for streaming at Paramount Global.
Giles was promoted in June 2021 to help oversee all streaming content programming efforts for the media conglomerate that has invested heavily in its Paramount+ streaming platform. News of Giles’ departure was first reported by Deadline.
The move comes as Paramount Global has been taking steps to further streamline its content, production and network operations under an increasingly smaller number of leaders. In late January, the company unveiled the plan to consolidate its stalwart pay TV cabler Showtime with the Paramount+ platform.
That shakeup led to the departures of Showtime’s top leaders, Gary Levine and Jana Winograde. David Nevins, another longtime content chief for Paramount and its predecessor, CBS Corp., left the company last fall. Giles was seen as having gained clout and turf amid the shakeups. A source close to the situation said Giles’ decision to leave was her own and not a precursor to more restructuring.
There’s no word yet on whether Giles’ role will be replaced. It may signal that leadership of Paramount’s primary streamers — the subscription-focused Paramount+ and ad-supported Pluto TV — will operate more autonomously.
Giles climbed the ranks over a more than 25-year career at Paramount and Viacom. She got her start in 1997 as a senior analyst in the research department of Nickelodeon. From there she moved on to posts at TV Land, Comedy Central and for a slew of cablers across what was then Viacom Entertainment Group. Before joining Nickelodeon, she worked for CBS as a research analyst early in her career.