{"id":718847,"date":"2026-04-10T20:12:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T20:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/718847\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T20:12:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T20:12:12","slug":"alec-botnick-to-head-nickelodeon-animation-studios","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/718847\/","title":{"rendered":"Alec Botnick To Head Nickelodeon Animation Studios"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tThe integration of CBS and Paramount cable assets under George Cheeks, Chair of TV Media, continues. After BET Studios in December became a label of CBS Studios<\/a>, the same is now being done with Nickelodeon Animation Studios<\/a>, which also will function as a label within the David Stapf-run TV studio going forward. <\/p>\n

\n\tWith that, all production units in Cheeks\u2019 expanded portfolio after the Skydance merger are now being consolidated into one, CBS Studios<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tCheeks announced the restructuring in an internal memo, a copy of which was obtained by Deadline. In it, he announced Alec Botnick<\/a>\u2018s appointment as President of Nickelodeon Animation Studios. <\/p>\n

\n\tAshley Kaplan<\/a>, who had been co-running the animated studio with Botnick for the past four months, will become a consultant, working \u201con special projects through the end of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBack in November, three months after former CBS President and CEO Cheeks added oversight of Paramount cable brands such as MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and BET in his new role as Paramount\u2019s Chair of TV Media, he unveiled leadership for most divisions<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\n\tKaplan, EVP, Nick\u2019s Unscripted and Digital Franchise Studios, and Botnick, CBS Studios\u2019 EVP, Comedy Development, Head of Animation and Alternative, were tapped at the time to oversee Nickelodeon Animation Studios. Over her seven-year tenure at Nickelodeon, Kaplan has shepherded the company\u2019s large YouTube output in form of short-form content. <\/p>\n

\n\tBotnick will now \u201coversee the animation studio and its evolution across digital, TV and streaming as we reimagine how we meet today\u2019s kids and families,\u201d Cheeks said. \u201cAlec\u2019s leadership will be essential in shaping our next phase as Nickelodeon reinvents how we reach preschoolers, starting where discovery happens first and evolving into a true cross-platform brand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThere is no change for Jules Borkent who, as announced in November, will continue as EVP of global commercial partnerships and operations, overseeing Nickelodeon\u2019s Kids & Family\u2019s business and strategy.<\/p>\n

\n\tHere is Cheeks\u2019 full email:<\/p>\n

\n

Team,<\/p>\n

I\u2019m excited to announce that Alec Botnick has been appointed president of Nickelodeon Animation Studios. Alec will lead Nickelodeon Animation Studios into its next chapter, while also continuing his current role as EVP of CBS Studios comedy development, alternative & animation. Similar to BET Studios, Nickelodeon Animation Studios will now operate as its own label for television within CBS Studios.<\/p>\n

For Nickelodeon, Alec will oversee the animation studio and its evolution across digital, TV and streaming as we reimagine how we meet today\u2019s kids and families. Alec\u2019s leadership will be essential in shaping our next phase as Nickelodeon reinvents how we reach preschoolers, starting where discovery happens first and evolving into a true cross-platform brand. He will lead Nickelodeon\u2019s unscripted programming for television, including the Kids\u2019 Choice Awards, while also guiding the development of new series and overseeing our long-running hits, ensuring Nickelodeon remains home to the world\u2019s most iconic kids\u2019 franchises like SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, PAW PATROL and more.<\/p>\n

Alec will also continue to develop scripted comedies and alternative projects for CBS Studios, as well as maintain oversight of animated development across the CBS, Comedy Central and MTV brands for owned and third-party platforms. Series and projects Alec has helped develop include GHOSTS and ETERNALLY YOURS for CBS, the critically acclaimed Australian comedy COLIN FROM ACCOUNTS for Paramount+ and the animated series \u201cOdd Jobs\u201d for Prime Video.<\/p>\n

I also want to share that Ashley Kaplan will transition to a consulting role beginning Monday. In this capacity, she will support the TV Media division on special projects through the end of the year. We are grateful to Ashley for her years of leadership and appreciate her continued partnership.
Jules Borkent, executive vice president of global commercial partnerships and operations, will continue to oversee Nickelodeon Kids & Family\u2019s business and strategy, working in partnership with Alec and other key stakeholders to maximize the Nick brand.<\/p>\n

Please join me in congratulating Alec on this well-deserved role. I\u2019m excited for what\u2019s ahead as we continue building the next chapter of Nickelodeon.<\/p>\n

All the best,
George<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The integration of CBS and Paramount cable assets under George Cheeks, Chair of TV Media, continues. After BET…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":718848,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[9],"tags":[298525,298526,197134,171,298527,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-718847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-alec-botnick","tag-ashley-kaplan","tag-cbs-studios","tag-entertainment","tag-nickelodeon-animation-studios","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116382240290372800","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=718847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/718848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=718847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=718847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=718847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}