CBS May Announce Entertainment Chief

CBS was expected to announce today that it has hired Tri-Star Pictures President Jeff Sagansky as president of the TV network’s low-rated entertainment division, according to sources within and outside the network.

David A. Matalon, executive vice president of Columbia Pictures Entertainment, is the most likely candidate to replace Sagansky, industry sources said. Matalon ran Tri-Star before moving into the parent company’s senior management last March.

Columbia would not comment on how the company would be affected by Sagansky’s CBS deal.

Sagansky, 37, a former NBC programming executive, was one of the first to be approached as the beleaguered No. 3 network scrambled to replace Kim LeMasters following his abrupt resignation Nov. 30. At the time, Sagansky would say only that he remained under contract to Columbia.

Sagansky’s name dropped out of the picture late last week, however, as CBS neared a deal with Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner, producers of the top-rated “The Cosby Show,” “Roseanne” and “A Different World.” But Carsey and Werner confirmed last Friday that their talks with CBS had collapsed. Other sources said the network had resumed negotiations with Sagansky.

Sagansky was unavailable for comment Monday.

Although also unavailable for comment, CBS Broadcast Group President Howard Stringer was reported by a CBS spokeswoman to be excited about the prospect of working with Sagansky.

Sagansky joined Tri-Star Pictures in 1985 as president of production and was promoted to president of the firm earlier this year. He previously had been senior vice president of programming for NBC, and also had served as vice president of development for Gerber Co. and had worked in CBS’ broadcast financing department.