CBS faces up to its #MeToo moment

IT SAYS something about the power Les Moonves wielded in the entertainment industry that one bombshell report of allegations by multiple women of sexual misconduct and harassment could not dislodge him as chairman and chief executive of CBS. Instead, it took two.

But fall he finally did. On September 9th Mr Moonves, long considered one of the most astute executives in the media business, was forced out hours after the New Yorker reported allegations that he sexually assaulted or harassed six women in incidents dating from the 1980s to the early 2000s. That followed another report in July, also in the New Yorker, of accusations from other women of misconduct.

Mr Moonves denies both sets of allegations, although in response to the earlier ones he said he “may have made some women uncomfortable by making advances”. He has surrendered $60m of $180m in severance pay that he would ordinarily be due, pending the outcome of an investigation by the CBS board. If the probe finds that he violated the firm’s sexual-harassment rules, he could be owed nothing. Joseph Ianniello, CBS’s chief operating officer and Mr Moonves’s deputy, is serving as interim chief executive while the board searches for a successor.

For years Mr Moonves impressed Wall Street by pepping up the business even as the industry of broadcast television declined around it. CBS became America’s most-watched network under his oversight (and he became one of the highest-paid CEOs of a public company). He programmed procedural law-and-order shows that were popular with viewers over 50, the only segment of the American public that has increased its viewing of conventional television this decade. He had a penchant for simple storylines of good versus evil. As one former associate put it: “He had a real feeling for who should be the hero, who should be the villain.” His own standing in the TV business will not recover soon, if ever.

Mr Moonves’s ousting is the most consequential for a public company since the #MeToo era began nearly a year ago. Early this year reports of alleged misconduct forced Steve Wynn, a casino magnate, to step down as boss of Wynn Resorts; the firm’s market capitalisation has fallen by a third, to less than $15bn. But the shake-up at CBS, which is valued at $21bn, will almost certainly alter the company’s trajectory.

Although it is publicly traded, CBS is controlled by the family of Sumner Redstone, an ailing media magnate, via his daughter Shari. Ms Redstone had been feuding with Mr Moonves over her desire to recombine CBS with Viacom, a struggling sister firm that owns cable networks such as MTV and Comedy Central, and which is also controlled by the Redstones. (The two companies were combined from 2000 until 2005, at which point Mr Redstone split them up, putting Mr Moonves in charge of CBS.) In May Mr Moonves and allies on the CBS board filed a lawsuit seeking to dilute the Redstone family’s control.

Now Ms Redstone’s grip on CBS could scarcely be more secure. On September 9th the CBS board also named six new directors, tilting the majority in favour of Ms Redstone. The litigation was dropped. As part of the bargain Ms Redstone has agreed not to initiate a merger for two years. But nothing prevents the new bosses of CBS from initiating such a move. It is not at all clear that CBS would benefit from merging with Viacom, a group of networks in distress. But it is certain that Mr Moonves will not be around to call the shots.