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Richard D. Parsons, a longtime media officer who had been named acting president of CBS less than a month ago, was expected to help stabilize the company, said Sunday that he was pulling out for cause of illness.
Forced to reshuffle its leaders again, the CBS Corporation Group has named its replacement, Strauss Zelnick, director of video game publisher Take-Two Interactive Software. Mr. Zelnick, who enjoys great respect in the media industry, was appointed to the CBS Board of Directors in early September. He had directed the music publisher BMG Entertainment and had been president of 20th Century Fox.
The reshuffle complicates an already difficult period for CBS, which spent most of last year fighting the scandal on several fronts. Several charges of sexual misconduct have been brought against Leslie Moonves, his chief executive, as well as against a longtime leader of his information division. Separately, a controversial legal confrontation with its majority shareholder threatened to overthrow the company's management.
While CBS was working to resolve the differences, Mr. Parsons played a key role in negotiating Mr. Moonves' departure. He also advised on the appointment of Joseph Ianniello, deputy chief executive, as interim general manager, and helped install six new directors to steer the company out of trouble, according to several people close to the board. administration who requested anonymity. The lawsuit was dissolved as part of the Moonves exit agreement.
Several years ago, it was discovered that Parsons had a rare form of blood cancer called multiple myeloma. His illness went into remission after a stem cell transplant. In a statement issued by CBS, he said, "Unfortunately, unplanned complications have created new challenges, and my doctors have advised reducing my current commitments is critical to my overall recovery."
Mr. Parsons has a reputation for being a trustworthy negotiator, able to settle the most bitter disputes. He unraveled what is considered one of the worst mergers in the history of the company, AOL-Time Warner, and he helped stabilize Citigroup after the recession of 2008. In 2014, he was called to help rehabilitate the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association.
Under Parsons' leadership, CBS's revamped board had already begun looking for a chief executive to determine who could best help the company navigate a challenging environment for media companies. Silicon Valley continues to steal advertising money from traditional TV channels, and entertainment companies have had to find new ways to keep their relevance to a younger audience.
In the case of CBS, CBS All Access, which has more than 2.5 million paying subscribers, is expected to grow by $ 4 million next year, according to the company. The Showtime premium cable network, which is part of CBS, has also made progress in streaming and plans to register a similar number of customers over the same period. Together, streaming activities represent annual sales of more than $ 500 million, a sector that did not exist a few years ago.
Mr. Ianniello, candidate for the position of permanent general manager, has already made several appointments of key executives during his two months of activity.
The board is still awaiting the outcome of an investigation into charges of sexual harassment against Mr. Moonves and Jeff Fager, director of CBS 'most lucrative television program, "60 Minutes," and former director of its information division. Both denied the allegations.
The CBS board hired Nancy Kestenbaum of Covington & Burling and Mary Jo White of Debevoise & Plimpton to conduct its internal investigation into the charges and the general corporate culture.
Ms. White headed the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Obama administration and was previously the Southern District New York lawyer in the United States. Ms. Kestenbaum was also a federal prosecutor in the same district.
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