Werner Moves Up at Warner

Ken Werner, who has been instrumental in building the soon-to-be-launched CW network, is jumping to another division within Time Warner Inc.’s sprawling empire.

The company Wednesday named Werner president of Warner Bros.’s syndicated television group. He succeeds industry veteran Dick Robertson, who announced Monday that he planned to retire after 17 years at the studio. Robertson will become an advisor to the studio’s TV group.

Werner joined the WB network nearly 10 years ago as its executive vice president of distribution, in charge of relationships with the TV stations that carried the network’s programming. Next month, the WB, owned by Time Warner and Tribune Co., the parent company of the Los Angeles Times, will be shut down to make way for the CW, a joint venture between Warner Bros. Entertainment and CBS Corp.

“The opportunity to stay at Warner Bros. is exciting,” Werner said. “I wanted to be with a company that has vast resources in programming and a great marketing machine.”

This season, Werner will oversee syndication deals for seven first-run series, including “The Tyra Banks Show,” “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” and “Extra.”

In addition, the distribution unit handles the syndicated reruns of such shows as “Two and a Half Men,” “Friends” and “Sex and the City.”