Greg Meidel takes reins at News Corp.’s Twentieth Television

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TV industry veteran Greg Meidel has been named president of News Corp.’s television syndication unit, Twentieth Television. He is succeeding Bob Cook.

The move, which had been anticipated by Company Town, marks a return for Meidel, who used to run Twentieth Television in the 1990s. Since then, he has held senior posts at Universal and Paramount and most recently was running News Corp.’s MyNetwork TV, a programming venture that has recently scaled back its ambitions.

Meidel will have his work cut out for him as the syndication business has become increasingly less lucrative over the last 10 years. TV stations are struggling financially, which means they have less to spend on daytime shows that Twentieth produces such as ‘Divorce Court’ and ‘Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?’

-- Joe Flint