UPN Units to Report to CBS Counterparts

Viacom Inc. has given officials at its CBS television unit responsibility for certain functions of its smaller UPN network, according to an internal memo from CBS-TV Chief Executive Leslie Moonves.

The scheduling, sales, affiliate relations, media relations, marketing and promotion, research, finance, operations and engineering, and law and human resources departments at UPN will report to their counterparts at CBS, Moonves wrote in a memo to UPN employees.

The move comes after New York-based Viacom folded the money-losing UPN network into the larger, profitable CBS-TV business this month to reduce costs and boost advertising revenue. Moonves has said he intends to maintain UPN as a separately run network with its own programming executives. Last week, Dawn Tarnofsky-Ostroff was appointed president of entertainment at UPN.

Adam Ware, UPN chief operating officer, will continue in that position, Moonves said in the memo. Ware will report to Moonves and will work closely with Tarnofsky-Ostroff.

Viacom’s Class B shares rose 20 cents to close at $39.65 on the NYSE. They have dropped 26% in the last year.