Matoian makes Fox his family
Matoian, who has headed the longform department at CBS since August 1990 and was upped to senior VP in April 1992, is expected to oversee development and production of theatrical movies aimed at a family audience.
Sources say the exec has been in talks with the studio for some time, with the question being whether he would accept the position and if CBS would let him out of his contract, which extends into next year. 20th Century Fox officials had no comment, and CBS said it couldn't confirm Matoian's exit.
Fox execs have stepped up their interest in family entertainment of late. Last May, the studio signed a two-year, first-look deal with Nickelodeon to produce family-oriented films. At that time, they made it clear that the Nickelodeon deal was not intended as a separate family film unit, even though other studios such as Warner Bros. were creating separate family entertainment divisions.
Unsung hero
Matoian has long been considered an unsung hero in CBS' primetime ratings success, providing a stream -- nearly 60 each year -- of high-rated movies and miniseries.
Last season, for example, the CBS Sunday and Tuesday movie slots ranked eighth and 14th, respectively, among regularly scheduled primetime series, with a 16.1 rating/25 share and 14.7/24. NBC's Sunday movie was next among the longform franchises, at a 13.9/21.
Prior tasks
Matoian served as VP of drama development from 1986-88, taking a two-year leave of absence before returning as VP of international program development in February 1990, seguing six months later to the longform VP post.
