Showtime President David Nevins will be elevated to CEO

David Nevins, the architect of Showtime’s stable of award-winning original programs, is being elevated to president and chief executive officer of the CBS-owned premium cable network.

The company announced Thursday that Nevins would take the CEO reins from Matt Blank on Jan. 1, 2016. Blank will remain in his role as chairman for an unspecified time after that. The move is the first step in a plan to make Nevins the top executive of the CBS Corp. subsidiary which is the second largest premium cable service behind Time Warner’s HBO.

“Matt has been an eager partner and invaluable contributor to the succession planning process at Showtime,” CBS Corp. President and Chief Executive Leslie Moonves said in a statement. “It is a credit to Matt that we are now prepared to add the CEO duties to a talented executive like David Nevins, who is more than ready to take on this important role.”

Nevin, swho turns 49 on Friday, has been president of Showtime since 2010, with his primary focus being the development and acquisition of programming. As CEO he will be responsible for all aspects of the daily and strategic management of the division. Along with the promotion, Nevins’ employment contract with Showtime has been extended through 2018.

The promotion of Nevins comes just before the imminent launch of Showtime’s stand-alone service that will be available to broadband Internet users, giving consumers the ability to get the channel’s programming without a cable or satellite subscription. The new service is expected to increase the number of Showtime subscribers beyond its current level of 24 million homes.

Moonves described Nevins as “simply one of the most creative business minds in the business today.”

Nevins joined Showtime after stints at the production company Imagine Television, Fox Broadcasting Co., where he developed the hit series “24,” and NBC, where he had a hand in developing such hits as “ER” and “Will and Grace.”

At Showtime, he’s launched eight successful original series including the Emmy Award-winning “Homeland” and this year’s Golden Globe-winning “The Affair.”

Blank has been with Showtime since 1988 and became chairman and CEO in 1995.