David Berson, the head of CBS Sports, will take over the broader sports operations of Skydance once it completes its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery., and that companyâs top sports executive, Luis Silberwasser, will exit.
âI have tremendous respect for our leadership and for the leaders of CBS Sports, who are great colleagues and friends. I fully support the decision and will do everything I can to be of assistance during the transition. I believe in the strategy ahead and, above all, in the people who will carry this work forward,â Silberwasser said in a memo to staffers Monday âThe success of this organization has always been about the talent, commitment and character of its people, and I know those qualities will continue to define it in the years ahead.â
Berson will take the reins of a merged portfolio that includes not only CBS Sportsâ NFL and Masters golf rights, but a Warner package that includes NHL and Major League Baseball games along with the U.S. rights to the French Open. The merger means that the NCAA March Madness college basketball championship will be under a single companyâs oversight for the first time in years. In the recent past, CBS and Warner have shared those rights. CBS decided to open the games to Warner in 2010 as fees grew too expensive for the company to handle on its own.