CBS Chief Faces Inquiry Over Misconduct Allegations

The CBS board of directors said Friday that it would investigate allegations of misconduct against the company’s chief executive, Leslie Moonves, the subject of an impending article in The New Yorker focused on claims about his behavior toward women.

The statement, which did not specifically identify Moonves, was released after The Hollywood Reporter posted an article online saying that The New Yorker was poised to publish an article that detailed allegations of sexual misconduct against him. CBS shares fell by more than 6 percent after the report.

The directors’ statement said that “all allegations of personal misconduct are to be taken seriously,” and that the group would investigate any claims that violated the company’s policies.

“Upon the conclusion of that investigation, which involves recently reported allegations that go back several decades, the board will promptly review the findings and take appropriate action,” the statement said.

Moonves, 68, a former actor who rose through the ranks to lead CBS and take it from last place to the most-watched television network, is separately embroiled in a legal dispute with Shari Redstone, who controls the company. Moonves and the CBS board have sued Redstone to prevent her from trying to merge the network with Viacom, which she also controls. The lawsuit will play out in court in October.

The CBS board’s statement noted the timing of the New Yorker article and said that the company’s managers continued to have the board’s support.

“Along with that team, we will continue to focus on creating value for our share owners,” the statement said.

A statement subsequently released on behalf of Redstone denied that she had anything to do with the New Yorker article.

“The malicious insinuation that Ms. Redstone is somehow behind the allegations of inappropriate personal behavior by Mr. Moonves or today’s reports is false and self-serving,” the statement from her representative said. “Ms. Redstone hopes that the investigation of these allegations is thorough, open and transparent.”

CBS, for years the No. 1 TV network with hits like “The Big Bang Theory,” “Survivor” and the “CSI” franchise, has been one of the best performing businesses in the media industry. Its success has largely been attributed to Moonves, who has been praised for his uncanny ability to pick shows that become hits with mass audiences. He also moves comfortably among both Wall Street investors and Hollywood producers, speaking as easily about negotiating carriage fees as he does programming for prime-time audiences.

But as technology giants like Netflix, Amazon, Apple and Facebook have pushed into entertainment, media businesses have responded by bulking up through acquisitions. This year, Redstone asked the boards of CBS and Viacom to explore the possibility of a merger.

Moonves and the majority of the CBS board, however, concluded that a combination would not benefit CBS’ shareholders. The company has a far more robust business, while revenues at Viacom, which includes the cable networks Nickelodeon, MTV and Comedy Central, have been shrinking over the last few years.

In May, CBS and Moonves lost one of the early rounds of the dispute when a judge ruled against CBS’ effort to reduce Redstone’s influence over the network. She, through her family company, controls nearly 80 percent of the company’s voting rights.

Issues over those rights and the leadership of CBS will be decided in the court case this year. That lawsuit had already put Moonves’ storied career at stake; if he loses, he may end up leaving the company.

In the #MeToo era, a number of prominent media figures have faced allegations of improper behavior. In November, CBS fired anchor Charlie Rose after The Washington Post published an article in which multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct. Rose had been a host of the CBS morning show since 2012. He joined the network’s “60 Minutes II” as a correspondent in 1999. After that show was canceled, he joined “60 Minutes” in 2008. (PBS also cut its longtime ties with Rose.)

Three of the women who made the accusations against Rose have since sued him and CBS, saying that they were sexually harassed while working for him and that the network did not do anything to stop it. CBS has said it was not aware of any allegations regarding Rose’s behavior until The Post published its article.

At the time, Rose expressed “embarrassment” for pursuing what he believed to be “shared feelings” with women who had accused him.