Amy Powell named president of Paramount Television

Viacom Inc.’s Paramount Pictures has named Amy Powell to the position of president of Paramount Television as the company ramps up its efforts to develop programming for smaller screens.

Powell will continue to serve as head of Paramount’s digital entertainment and Insurge Pictures unit, Paramount said Monday in a statement.

“Amy has proven herself to be a highly talented, innovative and creative executive,” Paramount Chief Executive Brad Grey said in a statement. “Her skill and experience working across all platforms, at engaging audiences, and, most recently her work at Insurge, will be instrumental as we build a versatile television operation.”

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Paramount expects to spend at least five years reassembling a television production studio after handing off its profitable TV production studio six years ago to CBS in the wake of Viacom’s corporate split. CBS claimed the Paramount Television studio and its valuable library that included such gems as “Frasier” and “Star Trek,” and syndicated programming including “Entertainment Tonight.”

“I look forward to integrating the television group’s capabilities with what we are already doing to provide great content for our audiences on every screen,” Powell said in a statement.

Powell, who began her career at CNN, joined Paramount in 2004 after working in interactive marketing at Sony Pictures. She will report to Grey on her television duties.

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For the last two years, Powell has led Paramount’s digital arm that seeks original content developed for the Web that can be used on other media platforms. The label has released Ben Stiller’s “Burning Love,” which premiered on Yahoo! and will make the leap to E! Entertainment Television.

In her role as president of Paramount’s small-budget Insurge Pictures, she will continue to report to Adam Goodman. Insurge released the musical documentary “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never,” the horror film “The Devil Inside,” and the biopic “Katy Perry: Part of Me.”

Powell also will coordinate with Paramount’s Vice Chairman Rob Moore on digital and business affair matters.

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