Radha Subramanyam obit

Radha Subramanyam Dies: CBS Chief Research Officer Was 55

She was not on the list.

Radha Subramanyam, who was chief research and analytics officer at CBS, died January 5 after a battle with cancer. She was 55.

Subramanyam joined the Paramount-owned broadcaster in 2017 and was promoted within 18 months. George Cheeks, Paramount’s Chair of TV Media, called her a “true force of nature.”

Born and raised in New Delhi, Subramanyam moved to the U.S. to attend Northwestern University, where she earned a doctorate in radio, television and film, and later taught at Vassar and NYU. She moved into research with jobs at MTV Networks, Yahoo, Nielsen and iHeartMedia, where she was President of Insights, Research and Data Analytics.

In her role at CBS, she oversaw day-to-day research operations, including audience measurement, program and ad analytics, marketing research, program testing, social media measurement, ROI measurement, attribution and advertising research. The company said her “brilliance lay in translating complex metrics into meaningful insights that shaped programming and strategy.”

Subramanyam was recognized as one of the National Women’s Conference’s Top Women in Business, the Tri-State Diversity Council’s Top Women Leaders of New York and Corinium’s Top Innovators in Data and Analytics and in 2023, she received the International Women’s Day Award at the Consulate General of India.

Reflecting on her career in 2021, she said: “I’m a little bit proud of my young self. What I had was a degree of fearlessness, just jumping into the unknown without overthinking it.” 

Cheeks said: “Radha was a true force of nature who passionately championed CBS. It would be hard to find someone who loved CBS more. Her passion for our work and her belief in the power of storytelling were contagious. She inspired us to think deeper and always strive for excellence.” 

Subramanyam is survived by her husband, Joseph, and children Tara and River.