The MIPCOM Personality of the Year Award was created in 1989 to pay tribute to exceptional careers in and contributions to the international television industry.
“We are delighted to honour Leslie Moonves, one of the industry's most talented leaders, as MIPCOM 2007 Personality of the Year,” said Reed MIDEM CEO Paul Zilk.
“His exceptional flair and vision have transformed CBS Corporation into the industry's pre-eminent media company and built CBS Television to become the most watched television network in the US, in the process bringing hundreds of hours of viewing pleasure to millions of consumers.”
“It is a privilege to be honoured at this year's MIPCOM, the global hub for the television industry,” commented Moonves. “The international market is an important part of CBS Corporation's content and business operations, and I accept this honour on behalf of the talented team at CBS Paramount International Television, who make us look good in this arena everyday.”
CBS is a mass media company with operations in virtually every field of media and entertainment, including national, local and cable television, programme production and syndication, radio, advertising on out-of-home media, publishing, theme parks, digital media and consumer products.
As president and CEO of CBS, Moonves oversees all operations of the company, including CBS Television Network, The CW (a joint venture between CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment), CBS Television Stations, CBS Paramount Network Television, CBS Television Distribution, CBS Paramount International Television, Showtime, CSTV Networks, CBS Radio, CBS Outdoor, Simon & Schuster, CBS Interactive, CBS Records, CBS Consumer Products, CBS Home Entertainment and CBS Feature Films.
Prior to the CBS/Viacom separation in 2005, he served as co-president and co-COO of Viacom and chairman of CBS, overseeing all of Viacom's domestic and international broadcast television operations, radio division and outdoor advertising operations.
Moonves was promoted to chairman and CEO of CBS in 2003, and prior to that, was president and CEO, CBS Television, a position he was elevated to in April 1998.
Under his leadership, CBS has grown to become the most watched television network in the US, programming TV's number one drama “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” the king of reality series “Survivor” and hit series such as “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Two and a Half Men,” “CSI: Miami,” “CSI: NY,” “Cold Case,” “Without A Trace” and the Emmy Award-winning reality show “The Amazing Race”.
Previous recipients of the award include Richard D Parsons, chairman and CEO of Time Warner; Gustavo Cisneros, chairman and CEO of Cisneros Group of Companies; Gerhard Zeiler, RTL Group CEO; Peter Chernin, president and COO of News Corporation and Chairman and CEO of The Fox Group; MTV Networks Chairman and CEO Tom Freston; Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone; CNN founder Ted Turner and Canal Plus founder André Rousselet.
