Turner Names President, COO

Steven Heyer has been named to the newly created post of president and chief operating officer of Turner Broadcasting System Inc., a unit of Time Warner Inc. Heyer, who joined Turner in 1994, is currently in charge of the revenue-generating divisions of the cable group--worldwide sales, marketing, distribution and the international networks group. Turner is the nation’s largest owner of cable programming, with networks including the Cartoon Network, TBS, TNT and CNN.

With his new appointment, Heyer also will be in charge of program acquisitions. He said the new reporting structure will allow the heads of Turner’s cable channels, who will continue to report to Terence McGuirk, chairman and chief executive of TBS Inc., to have more say in strategic planning that involves his group. “This is a strategic integration of the cost and revenue side,” said Heyer, who before joining Turner was president of Young & Rubicam Advertising Worldwide.

McGuirk has been president, chairman and chief executive of TBS since the company merged with Time Warner a year and a half ago and founder Ted Turner became vice chairman of Time Warner.

*

20th Century Fox has named 12-year Fox veteran Robert Harper to the newly created position of president, worldwide marketing, for Fox Filmed Entertainment. Harper--most recently president of marketing for 20th Century Fox--is the studio’s most senior marketing executive, taking on responsibilities across Fox’s theatrical, home video and consumer products divisions.

Harper, 42, has overseen theatrical marketing for all of 20th Century’s movies in the last several years.