Kelly Kahl


Kelly Kahl is an American television executive and film producer. He currently serves as the President of CBS Entertainment.

Early life and education

Kelly Kahl was born in Burlington, Wisconsin to Ronald and Barbara Ann Kahl. He discovered his interest in television while watching Saturday-morning cartoons and noticed programs would change time slots from year to year. He attended Burlington High School, graduating in 1985. He earned a degree in communications from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He then went on to receive his master of arts degree from USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

Career

Kahl began his career in 1990 at Lorimar Television as a research intern. He then worked at Warner Bros. Television as Director, Network Research before joining CBS as Vice President, Scheduling. While serving in this role he was part of scheduling many successful CBS shows such as Bull, Blue Bloods, The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon,, and NCIS. He was instrumental in the green-lighting of the television series Survivor. According to Survivor host Jeff Probst, Kahl had taken a risk by scheduling Survivor second season against NBC's Friends. Survivor routinely won viewership against Friends during that season, and as a result, Kahl gained significant influence at CBS that has been used to support Survivor through its 40th season.
He served as executive producer on the films Return to Zero, Sister Cities, and Saint Judy.
He is currently a board member on the cable network Pop.

Personal life

Kahl lives in Hermosa Beach, CA with his wife, Kim and their three dogs Baxter, Bunny & Gracie. He is a partner at Underground Pub and Grill.