A day after Van Toffler exited his role as president of MTV Networks Music & Logo Group at Viacom following a 28-year run, Viacom is poised to unveil a major corporate restructuring later this week.
As part of the latter, Larry Jones is out as TV Land president. The news, which is said to be a surprise to many internally, comes as his Viacom-owned network is prepping a creative reinvention, pegged to the March 31 premiere of Darren Star's Younger. With Hot in Cleveland airing its final season, TV Land has plans to shift to more younger-skewing single-camera fare, including its upcoming Jim Gaffigan comedy, Teachers and Impastor.
The veteran executive, who rose to exec vp and GM at TV Land before becoming president, helped not only launch the network, but also oversee its entry into original scripted programming. He first joined the Viacom family in 1988.
Jones' memo to staff is below:
To My TV Land Family,
It’s truly not an overstatement to say that I have loved every second of being at TV Land for the past 18 years as part of my 27 years with Viacom. With that said, due to the restructuring, I will be stepping down from my role with the company.
I am so proud of the work we have accomplished over the years and especially excited about the new initiatives we have coming up on TV Land. The channel is on the verge of amazing things and I’m constantly impressed by the team of people who have worked tirelessly to make it all happen. This has been so much more than a job to me and as I have often said to all of you, I always felt we were on a mission... a mission to be successful, to be creative and to make something that we could all be unapologetically proud of each and every day. It’s that mission that made it so easy to come to “work” everyday and be with all of you and for that, I thank you.
I am so happy to have been a part of the great legacy of this network. The great thing about television and all the platforms we now exist on is that I will be able to watch you every step of the way as you continue on the mission…
Peace.
L
