April 15 (Reuters) - CBS said on Thursday it was combining its television stations and news units under one management and named Neeraj Khemlani and Wendy McMahon as co-heads of the newly formed division.

The new unit will house CBS News, the 24/7 streaming news service CBSN, 10 CBSN Local platforms, cbsnews.com and 28 CBS-owned stations in 17 major U.S. markets, CBS said in a statement.

Susan Zirinsky, who currently is president of CBS News, is in talks with the company for a major role with the news network's content studio to be launched later this year, it said.

McMahon was most recently head of the ABC Owned Television Stations, with direct responsibility for the Walt Disney Co's eight broadcast stations, local newsrooms and streaming assets.

Khemlani has worked as an executive with Hearst Newspapers and was a former producer for CBS News' 60 Minutes program.

Both executives will report to George Cheeks, chief executive officer of CBS Entertainment Group, CBS said.

The hiring comes amid significant leadership turnover at television news networks. ABC News named former CBS News executive Kimberly Godwin as president on Wednesday, while Rashida Jones took the helm of Comcast Corp-owned MSNBC in February. (Reporting by Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)