Larry Jones is departing his role as president of TV Land as part of an in-the-works reorganization of Viacom’s television networks.
The move was announced Wednesday in an email from Jones to staff. His exit comes in the wake of Van Toffler’s announcement Tuesday that he would step down as president of Viacom’s music and Logo group, covering MTV, VH1, CMT and Logo.
TV Land announced in November that it would cancel Hot in Cleveland, a multi-camera comedy that was the network’s first and longest-running original scripted program. The network has shifted toward development of younger-skewing single-camera comedies, with four—Younger, Gaffigan, Impastor and Teachers—scheduled to premiere in 2015.
Viacom in January reported lower-than-expected first quarter earnings, with domestic ad revenue down 6% and net earnings down 9% from a year ago.
Jones’ full memo to staff is below:
To My TV Land Family,
It’s truly not an overstatement to say that I have loved every second of being at TV Land for the past 18 years as part of my 27 years with Viacom. With that said, due to the restructuring, I will be stepping down from my role with the company.
I am so proud of the work we have accomplished over the years and especially excited about the new initiatives we have coming up on TV Land. The channel is on the verge of amazing things and I’m constantly impressed by the team of people who have worked tirelessly to make it all happen. This has been so much more than a job to me and as I have often said to all of you, I always felt we were on a mission... a mission to be successful, to be creative and to make something that we could all be unapologetically proud of each and every day. It’s that mission that made it so easy to come to “work” everyday and be with all of you and for that, I thank you.
I am so happy to have been a part of the great legacy of this network. The great thing about television and all the platforms we now exist on is that I will be able to watch you every step of the way as you continue on the mission…
Peace.
L
