Michael Benson is an award‑winning marketing executive who leads brand strategy and multiplatform marketing for the TV Media division of Paramount, a Skydance Corporation. In this role, he oversees marketing across all CBS‑branded businesses – including CBS Television Network, News, Stations, Sports, Media Ventures and Studios – as well as Paramount’s portfolio of cable brands including MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and BET, in addition to BET Studios, Nickelodeon Animation Studio and See It Now Studios.
Benson articulates a clear brand vision through innovative, high‑impact marketing strategies that drive audience growth, strengthen engagement and support some of the industry’s most successful entertainment franchises. He and his team have launched hit series on CBS including BOSTON BLUE, FIRE COUNTRY, GHOSTS, MATLOCK and TRACKER. He has also reinvigorated and expanded the reach of the Network’s signature franchises, among them 60 MINUTES, SURVIVOR, CBS MORNINGS, NFL ON CBS and the STAR TREK universe. Across Paramount’s iconic portfolio of television brands, Benson and his team are driving new value by developing innovative, multiplatform marketing strategies that amplify audience engagement.
Benson joined Paramount in 2019 as president and chief marketing officer of CBS. Previously, he held senior leadership roles at several of the world’s most influential media and entertainment companies, including Amazon Studios, Time Warner and The Walt Disney Company.
During his tenure at Amazon Studios, Benson earned industry recognition for his creative and entrepreneurial approach to marketing Prime Video’s original programming. His campaigns garnered numerous industry honors including Adweek’s Brand Genius and Grand Brand Genius Awards, 37 Clio Awards (two Grand Clios), five Cannes Lions and an Emmy nomination.
Before Amazon, Benson served as chief creative officer for the Time Warner Global Media Group, developing strategic marketing partnerships across HBO, Warner Bros., Time Inc. and Turner Networks. He previously spent more than a decade at The Walt Disney Company as executive vice president of marketing for the ABC Entertainment Group, where he led acclaimed campaigns for culture‑defining hits including “Modern Family,” “Lost,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Dancing with the Stars,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and “The Bachelor.”Benson began his career with CBS, holding roles at WCCO‑TV in Minneapolis and KCBS‑TV in Los Angeles, before advancing to senior vice president of promotion and program planning at VH1/MTV Networks.