Gail Berman, who has crafted the prime-time schedule for the Fox Broadcasting Co. since 2000, was named president of Paramount Studios Wednesday.
The announcement had been expected since last week, when Paramount said it was considering Berman for a position at the movie studio and Fox named Peter Ligouri to succeed her at the network. Berman will start her new role sometime in May.
Berman will replace current Paramount president Donald DeLine. The studio said it was in discussions with DeLine about his future with the company.
Berman is the first high profile hire of Brad Grey, the new chairman and chief executive of Paramount. Both executives come from the world of television with a mandate to turn the ailing studio around.
Paramount is a unit of Viacom Inc., which also owns CBS, MTV and other media outlets. Executives have pledged to spend more money and take bigger risks at the studio, which has been known in recent years for box office flops such as "The Stepford Wives."
Grey came to Paramount with extensive television experience. He had run the talent agency Brillstein-Grey Entertainment and produced films and television shows, most notably the HBO series "The Sopranos." He took over from longtime Paramount CEO Sherry Lansing.
Berman has led Fox for five years, a relatively long tenure in the pressure-cooker job of network entertainment. As a producer, she helped develop the TV shows "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Malcolm in the Middle." She had had mixed results at Fox, especially with introducing a year-round schedule.
Berman acknowledged there will be a learning curve at Paramount.
"The experience that I've had in television and the creative process and having good relationships with creative people and putting together a team that fosters creativity are all transferable skills," Berman told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "But I have tremendous humility knowing there is a lot to learn in the film business."
Grey will give the final approval for the films Paramount makes, while Berman will be in charge of acquiring literary properties, development, budgeting, casting and production of films.
Berman has been known as a risk taker at Fox, betting on such shows as the offbeat comedy "Arrested Development," which has struggled, and the quirky medical drama "House," which has been rising in the ratings.