Lunch at Michael’s with CBS Entertainment President Kelly Kahl

amp8220Iamp8217m honored to be your first in LAamp8221 Kahl said as we settled in for a night of casual conversation over a meal comprised of multiple small plate specialties of the houseamp160 The upcoming highstakes Upfront was looming but Kahl was totally chillamp160 Of course the mechanics of the presentation had already been in the works for weeksamp8220Weamp8217re on draft six or seven alreadyamp8221 he said of the allimportant script for the showamp160amp160quotBut it remains a work in progress right up to the night before and we always talk to sales before we put the finishing touches on our presentation to make sure our messaging is in line with theirsamp8221It wouldnamp8217t be Kahlamp8217s first time on the Carnegie Hall stage amp8211 heamp8217s been a part of previous CBS presentations amp8211 but it would be his first as Entertainment Presidentamp160 He was promoted to that position almost immediately after last yearamp8217s eventamp160 I couldnamp8217t help but ask the routine question about what itamp8217s like to play the worldamp8217s most famous stageamp160 amp8220Itamp8217s nothing I would ever have wanted to doamp8221 he said with a laughamp160 amp8220Itamp8217s not my natureamp160 Itamp8217s kind of surrealamp8221One of the ways Kahl remains grounded at times like that is to think about his beloved grandfather whose ring he has worn for yearsamp160 amp8220My grandpa was a salesman for Pfizeramp8221 Kahl saidamp160 amp8220If you listen to my mother and my aunt he was Pfizeramp8217s No 1 salesman in the countryamp160 He died when I was eight or nine so I didnamp8217t get as much time with him as I would have likedamp160 My grandma lived to be 101amp160 Going through her house they found the ringamp160 My mom asked if I wanted itamp160 I put it on and it was a perfect fitamp160 I didnamp8217t resize itamp160 I wear it all the timeamp160 As mushy as it is I have a little piece of grandpa with meamp160 Walking out on stage at Carnegie Hall I think amp8216Okay I have a little bit of salesman in my blood so get out there and sellamp8217amp8221While gearing up to amp8220sellamp8221 there also is the matter of much simultaneous lastminute decisionmaking determining which new series to run with and which existing shows to cancelamp160 Kahl wasnamp8217t offering any hints of the choices to comeamp160 amp8220We just started to see some of the new showsamp8221 he saidamp160 amp8220Itamp8217s hard to evaluate until youamp8217ve seen everythingamp160 I do feel pretty good about itamp160 We told everyone in development that we are going to take a few shots and I think weamp8217ve taken some really good onesamp160 As revealed on May 16 those amp8220shotsamp8221 include the comedies Happy Together and The Neighborhood a reboot of Magnum PI and the spiritual drama God Friended MeNow itamp8217s the balance of putting the schedule togetheramp8221 he continuedamp160 amp8220To be frank sometimes itamp8217s hard because the majority of our schedule is pretty strong and stableamp160 Itamp8217s tough to take a shot and live with a rating that isnamp8217t as strong as youamp8217re used to seeingquotThe true hits tend to be surprisesamp8221 he addedamp160 amp8220The shows that break out are not the ones people panned necessarily but are often the ones people donamp8217t give the time of day toamp160 I defy most people to say they saw this coming or that comingamp160 People liked This Is Us but I donamp8217t think they were screaming that it was going to be the next big hit or even The Good Doctoramp160 For us nobody gave CSI the time of dayamp160 Nobody looked at The Big Bang Theory and said amp8216That is going to be the No 1 comedy for six or seven years in a rowamp8217amp160 We got some polite nods for Young Sheldon last year but nobody predicted it would do as well as it isamp8221Before being named President of CBS Entertainment Kahl had spent most of his 22 years at the network focusing on schedulingamp160 He simultaneouslyamp160 did so for sibling The CW as wellamp160 Itamp8217s something he has had a passion for since he was a child though he didnamp8217t realize it at the timeamp160 Perhaps a amp8220youngamp8221 Kelly should have been in the back seat of that car with young Sheldon Cooper and amp8220youngamp8221 Jo Ann Ross innocently discussing interests that would determine their futures in that hilarious video CBS showed during its Upfront presentationamp8220The first hook was cartoonsamp8221 he recalledamp160 amp8220I distinctly remember when I was six years old they would put the cartoon schedule in the paperamp160 The Saturday morning lineupsamp160 I had a weird fascination with thatamp160 amp8216Why is Super Friends at 930amp160 It was at 9 am last yearamp160 Why did they move itamp8217amp160 The Saturday morning gridamp8221It seems a certain movie also influenced Kahl in a way that would change his lifeamp160 amp8220Disney had a movie called The Barefoot Executiveamp8221 he saidamp160 amp8220It starred a young Kurt Russell and he worked at a networkamp160 Joe Flynn was the head of the networkamp160 Kurt was like an internamp160 He had a pet monkeyamp160 The conceit was he would sneak down into the screening room with his pet monkey and they would watch the pilotsamp160 The monkey would get very excited about certain pilotsamp160 Kurt would relay that to the head of the network and they thought the kid was amazingamp160 But it was the monkey making the choicesquotIn Joe Flynnamp8217s office behind his desk was the scheduling boardamp8221 he continuedamp160 Again a programming grid had transfixed himamp160 amp8220I donamp8217t know whyamp8221 he laughedamp160 amp8220I canamp8217t explain itamp160 Oddly enough two or three years ago Kurt Russell came in pitching a reality showamp160 After the meeting was over I pulled him aside and said amp8216I need you to know you are a good part of the reason that I am sitting here doing this todayamp8217amp160 He thought it was pretty funnyamp8221Kahl grew up in Burlington Wisconsin which he often visits and where his family still residesamp160 His dad now retired was the wood shop teacher at the high school Kahl attendedamp160 amp8220He was very popular because he didnamp8217t care if you were going to college or if you were going to drive a dump truckamp8221 Kahl recalledamp160 amp8220It didnamp8217t matter to himamp160 He was going to hopefully teach you some skills and if you respected him he respected youamp160 When I go to my home town people will grab me and say amp8216You know your father was a great manamp160 He made a real impact on a lot of kids livesamp8217amp160 Just this fall they named the basketball court at the school after himamp160 It was quite an honoramp160 Kahl Courtamp160 He taught for 44 years but even though he is retired he still goes to basketball games and runs the concession stand and stuff like thatamp8221Asked what it was like to attend the same school at which one of his parents was teacher Kahl slyly replied amp8220We had to be kind of cleveramp160 If you were called to the principalamp8217s office you werenamp8217t as worried about the principal as the second guy who came through the dooramp8221It comes as no surprise that the Milwaukee Brewers are his favorite team amp160amp8220My buddy and I are trying to get a documentary off the ground about the 82 Brewersamp8221 he told usamp160 amp8220These guys were the long hair mustache go out after every game guysamp160 The personality was a beer league softball teamamp160 The city loved them for thatamp8220My dad is involved with athletics and mentors a lot of the young coachesamp8221 he continuedamp160 amp8220One of those coaches was the coach of our high school baseball teamamp160 He took a role doing community outreach for the Brewers and got to know Gorman Thomas very wellamp160 Gorman was my heroamp160 Heamp8217s my Mickey Mantleamp160 Every summer our school has a fundraiser golf tournament with the athletic departmentamp160 I always go home to support itamp160 They were doing another fundraiser for the baseball teamamp160 Coach calls me and says amp8216Can you get here this weekend from LAamp160 Youamp8217re riding in a cart with Gormanamp8217amp8220Sometimes you meet somebody you look up to and they fall shortamp160 But in this case Gorman was everything I hoped and then someamp160 By the end of the first hole heamp8217s telling stories about the good old daysamp160 Between shots all he wanted to talk about was NCIS because itamp8217s his favorite showamp160 So now we play in this tournament every year Gorman a few of my college roommates and meamp160 Itamp8217s just magicamp8221Kahl attended the University of Wisconsin then made the move to LA to go to USCamp8217s Annenberg School for Communicationsamp160 Before classes even started at USC he landed an internship at Lorimar Televisionamp160 amp8220I was in the research department on the Sony lotamp8221 he recalledamp160 amp8220They were getting ready to move to the Warner Bros lotamp160 It was at a time when there was some turnover in the company and Leslie Moonves was just assuming the head of Lorimaramp160 There was a lot of palace intrigue people talkingamp160 It was a lot of heavy stuff for a kid who wasnamp8217t even getting paidamp160 Welcome to Hollywoodamp160 Shitamp8217s going downamp8221amp160amp160He has since worked for Moonves for the entirety of his career in televisionamp160 quotHe39s my TV dadquot Kahl told usHe vividly recalled the first time he experienced the amp8220magicamp8221 of Hollywoodamp160 amp8220When we were on the Warner Bros lot they were shooting the first Batman movieamp160 Right next to our building was the Warner Bros New York streetamp160 They had it decked out for a snow sceneamp160 The valley gets very hot but I walked down New York street and I swear I felt cold even though it must have been 100 degreesamp8221These days Kahl knows how to keep cool when he isn39t running CBS Entertainment he can often be found managing The Underground a restaurant he owns in the South Bay not far from the home he shares with wife Kim and twin sons Thomas and Kyle when they are home from college It39s somewhat remarkable that he finds the time given his expanded role at the No 1 networkOver dessert Kahl ruminated on the differences between scheduling and programmingamp160 amp8220In scheduling the goal is to be super objectiveamp8221 he saidamp160 amp8220All your children maybe arenamp8217t as prettyamp160 In this role itamp8217s a little differentamp160 These are shows you have been in on the development of from a very early stageamp160 You have a little bit of a vested interest in how they doamp160 Itamp8217s a little harderamp8221As Entertainment President he said he has more direct involvement with shows than ever beforeamp160 amp8220Weamp8217re really fortunate to have great people on our teamamp160 Senior Executive Vice President of Programming Thom Sherman is our head of creative nowamp160 Heamp8217s so much better at this stuff than I amamp160 People who work in creative for a long time look at these things differently than I doamp160 I canamp8217t microanalyze like they doamp160 I look at things more from the big pictureamp8220When I first started in scheduling the advice I got from a good of people was never listen to salesamp8221 he continuedamp160 amp8220I went in thinking thatamp160 And itamp8217s so wrongamp160 Sales is how we grow and profit as a company so why wouldnamp8217t you listen to themamp160 If sales knows that you have their back then they have your backamp160 Iamp8217m so lucky with President and Chief Advertising Revenue Officer Jo Ann Ross Executive Vice President Primetime Sales and Innovation Lindaamp160Renamp233 and Executive Vice President Network Sales Chris Simonamp160 If we want to do something a little crazy programmingwise their team is there for usamp160 The reverse is also true if they ask for something they know we have their backamp8221Thinking about the selling season to come Kahl couldnamp8217t contain his enthusiasm about his networkamp160 amp8220I think everyone is going to get smarter about being able to target audiencesamp8221 he saidamp160 amp8220We remain extremely confident that the more you drill down you will see that broadcast has the audience that advertisers want to reachamp160 Look at who is actually buying products amp8230 you will find tens of millions of them every night many of them at CBSamp8221Click the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writersamp160

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Lunch at Michael’s with CBS Entertainment President Kelly Kahl

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