Jun 4, 2018

Nickelodeon's longtime boss, Saima Zarghami, steps down

Saima Zarghami, president of the Nickelodeon Group and head of the children's network, is stepping down. She had worked for the network for more than 30 years.

Viacom announced today that it is conducting a "comprehensive search for a successor to lead Nickelodeon." In the interim, Sarah Levy, chief operating officer of Viacom Media Networks, will lead Nickelodeon on an interim basis.

The Nickelodeon brand now has a content pipeline of "over 800 new episodes," which will be launched across multiple platforms over the next year.

"Over the course of her career, Saima has played an integral role in building Nickelodeon into a dominant force in kids' entertainment," said Viacom President and CEO Bob Bakish. Her instinct for creating content and experiences that kids love has been integral to Nickelodeon's success around the world." As we look to the future, we are excited to build on this solid foundation as we continue to evolve our business and connect with our young audience in new and innovative ways. We deeply appreciate Saima's leadership and wish her every success."

Born in Iran, Zarghami joined Nickelodeon in 1985 as a scheduler. After holding positions in programming, she became the station's general manager in 1996, and when Herb Scannell resigned as president in January 2006, Zarghami took over the top job.

Bakish identified six "flagship" brands after becoming CEO and president of Viacom in late 2016: BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr. and Paramount. With Zarghami's departure, all of these brands have seen leadership changes over the past 18 months as part of Bakish's restructuring plan.

Deadline obtained today letters sent by Bakish to Nickelodeon and Viacom staff. They are as follows:

Team Nickelodeon,

Today we announce that Saima Zarghami is stepping down as president of Nickelodeon Group.

It goes without saying how significant Saima has been to Nickelodeon and how her leadership has led the Nickelodeon brand to success after success throughout her remarkable 40-year tenure. She was a true pioneer, taking Nick from an early niche cable channel to the groundbreaking global powerhouse it is today.

Saying goodbye is never easy, but her legacy here is long and she leaves behind a great team of smart, dedicated people who exemplify creativity and collaboration throughout the industry. I am confident that the Nickelodeon brand will continue to grow and prosper while providing children and families with the best entertainment content anywhere.

We have conducted a comprehensive search process for Saima's replacement, and in the interim, Sarah Levy will lead Nickelodeon in addition to her responsibilities as COO of Viacom Media Networks. Many of you are aware of Sarah's long tenure at Nick.

We thank her for her many contributions to Nickelodeon and Viacom and wish her continued success. I would also like to thank everyone for all that you do every day to further develop and grow this great brand. I look forward to working together to build the exciting next chapter of Nickelodeon.

Best, Bob

Team

I would like to inform everyone that Saima Zarghami is stepping down from her position as president of Nickelodeon Group.

For over 30 years, Saima has played an integral role in building Nickelodeon into a dominant force in kids' entertainment. Her passion for Nickelodeon is second to none, and her instinct for creating content and experiences that kids love has been integral to the success of the Nickelodeon brand worldwide.

Syma's career, which began with Nickelodeon in 1985, has spanned Nickelodeon's explosive growth and expanding influence, both as a brand and as a huge business, and has taken the company beyond its unparalleled television-driven focus on feature films, consumer products, recreation, digital, and other new leading the company into new areas. From Nick's once lone cable channel to today's multi-platform, Saima's contributions have been immeasurable. Her success is a product of her dedication to Nickelodeon's mission to make the world a more playful place for children everywhere.

While we conduct a comprehensive search for Saima's replacement, Sarah Levy will lead Nickelodeon on an interim basis as we begin our next chapter, in addition to her responsibilities as COO of Viacom Media Networks. Sarah has been with Nickelodeon for nearly 20 years, including 10 years as Chief Operating Officer, and knows the Nickelodeon brand inside and out. She also brings with her valuable experience managing the operations of our entire portfolio, and there is no one better qualified to provide her support and guidance.

As you know, this transition comes at a time of tremendous change and opportunity in the industry as a whole, especially in the kids' entertainment industry. Nickelodeon is Nickelodeon's first true flagship brand, spanning television, digital, film, and real-world experiences, and Nickelodeon continues to evolve and grow rapidly, just as its audience does.

I am proud to say that Nickelodeon continues to make significant and important moves to lead this new landscape - from a pipeline of 800 new episodes this year (the largest in brand history) to the launch of Noggin on the Amazon channel, the Chicago Slimefest, to the long-awaited U.S. debut of Slimefest. Nickelodeon will also play a key role in the revamping of the Paramount film slate for 2019 with co-branded films Wonder Park and Dora the Explorer. And I am confident that Sarah and the talented team at Nickelodeon will continue to accelerate the brand's exciting push into new next-generation viewing platforms, movies, live experiences, and consumer products.

Please join me in thanking her for her many contributions to Nickelodeon and wishing her continued success.

You are the best, Bob