Julio Marenghi, president/general manager for CBS Corp.’s Boston duopoly, is returning to his former corporate position as president of sales for the CBS Television Stations Group.
He fills a position left vacant since former sales chief Tom Kane took over as the group’s president/CEO last fall.
Marenghi will now oversee all sales operations for the group's 39 TV stations, which include 20 CBS, 15 UPN, one WB and two independent stations. He mostly recently ran WBZ and WSBK Boston, CBS and UPN stations, as well as Providence, R.I.’s WLWC.
Taking his place will be Ed Piette, the president/general manager for CBS’ strong Minneapolis O&O WCCO. Piette, a veteran of the Minneapolis-St. Paul market, previously headed Hubbard’s KTSP and KSTC in the market. Since joining WCCO three years ago, Piette engineered a strong turnaround that saw the station move into first place in the highly competitive market.
He inherits Boston stations that, under Marenghi’s two-year watch, have been undergoing significant changes. WBZ added Dr. Phil and grew its news ratings and number of newscasts. On the UPN side, WSBK plans to return to its former status as a hyper-local indie when UPN shuts down in September. Marenghi recently unveiled plans to start a 9:30 p.m. newscast on the station, the market’s only local news in the time period.
In his new role, Marenghi will also head new business development for the group and digital platform sales efforts. Before his first tour as the group’s sales chief, Marenghi was VP and station manager of WCBS. Prior to joining CBS, Marenghi had been sales manager for WNBC since 1998.
