Jeff Zucker

Both men — bounced from running NBCUniversal and CNN, respectively, over sex scandals — now find themselves at private equity firm RedBird Capital, which is behind Skydance Media’s ongoing machinations to take over Shari Redstone’s struggling Paramount entertainment empire.

The former CNN president and onetime executive producer of Today, is investing in Media Res, the independent Hollywood studio behind the hit prestige dramedy The Morning Show on Apple TV+. It’s the latest gamble by Zucker in his effort to build a mini media empire for RedBird IMI, the venture company he founded in 2022.

British regulators announced a review into whether the bid, backed mostly by funds from the United Arab Emirates, could result in adverse foreign influence over the British press.

The veteran TV executive is poised to take control of two prominent British news outlets, The Daily Telegraph and The Spectator, and may expand them into America.

Former CNN boss Jeff Zucker has agreed to acquire a stake in newsletter startup Front Office Sports, and will serve as co-chair of the newsletter startup’s board. This is Zucker’s splashiest deal since launching RedBird IMI, a $1 billion investment fund focused on media, entertainment and sports. Zucker now has a brand and platform that he can use to develop and license new documentaries and video projects, with a source saying FOS will seek to hire new on-camera talent.

The investment firm led by former CNN chief Jeff Zucker is in talks to back newsletter startup Front Office Sports, sources say. Discussions are ongoing and may not result in a deal. It’s the latest newsletter upstart being eyed by Zucker, who manages a $1 billion investment fund called RedBird IMI.

The entertainment publication Variety, under fire this week for an article by Tatiana Siegel it published last Tuesday about former CNN chief Jeff Zucker’s interest in his old employer, revised the piece on Friday to reflect some of the complaints about it. None of its changes affected what was written about Zucker, however. He has called for the story to be retracted.

Variety faces fierce backlash over Tatiana Siegel’s article that claimed Zucker has been gearing up to acquire CNN.

Not even Fox’s $787 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems can compare to the drama that’s enveloped CNN during and after the one-year reign of Chris Licht, who some insiders have described as a Julius Caesar figure surrounded by backstabbers.

Speculation is growing that Warner Bros. Discovery will sell CNN in the coming year — and the struggling cable network’s former CEO Jeff Zucker has emerged as a possible suitor, sources tell the New York Post. They say Zucker sees a big opportunity at CNN ahead of the 2024 presidential election after ex-CEO Chris Licht’s strategy to revamp the network’s programming to appeal to a more centrist audience flopped, sending ratings and ad revenue tumbling.

Since leaving CNN a year ago, Jeff Zucker, the network’s former president, has been on the hunt for deals, flush with $1 billion in backing from big investors in the worlds of media and finance. RedBird Capital Partners, a private-equity firm, and International Media Investments, a funder with connections to the government of the United Arab Emirates, are betting that Zucker’s record in the media industry will help him zero in on promising investments in digital media, sports, entertainment and news.

CNBC asked media insiders, including Peter Chernin, Barry Diller, Byron Allen, Bela Bajaria, Jeff Zucker and Bill Simmons, for their predictions about what TV will be like in three years. They also weighed in on which companies will dominate streaming and how big a role sports and gambling will play.

The veteran media executive, who has been CEO of NBCUniversal as well as president of the CNN, will lead RedBird IMI, a joint-venture investment vehicle focused on acquiring and investing in large scale media, entertainment and sports content properties.  RedBird IMI, which includes investments from RedBird Capital Partners and International Media Investments, launches with initial committed capital of $1 billion.

After nine years of generating headlines for CNN, Jeff Zucker is giving new thought to testing his acumen for the world of sports. The former WarnerMedia and NBCUniversal executive, who abruptly left his job as head of CNN in February after acknowledging he failed to disclose a romantic relationship with Allison Gollust, CNN’s former chief marketing officer, is said to be mulling some offers from the sports sector, according to two people familiar with the matter. None of these conversations are believed to be in their final stages, according to one of these people, and Zucker is said to be having discussions around a wide array of potential opportunities.

Jeff Zucker has finalized a deal with WarnerMedia over the former CNN chief’s sudden fall from grace last month. Details of the confidential package are obviously being kept close to the vest, but sources tell us Zucker made the decision several weeks ago to accept what had been put on the table by his old bosses at the time of his cable news exit. What we do know is that, if WarnerMedia keeps their side of the deal, in the next week to 10 days, Zucker will receive a one-time payment of around $10 million.

How an upcoming merger at WarnerMedia could upend life at the cable news network. Above, The TV magnate John Malone, who has profited immensely from the consolidation of the media market, is poised to play an influential role in the new company.

CNN faces the challenge of navigating a pivotal moment in the news industry without its dominant leader, as Jeff Zucker’s ouster because of a relationship with a colleague unleashed raw, angry feelings among some people he led.

The network’s top-rated host and its president were forced out following ethical lapses, an office romance and a letter from a lawyer for “Jane Doe.”

The sudden exit of Cable News Network President Jeff Zucker highlights his tensions with WarnerMedia’s chief, leaves talent frustrated.

WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar continued to be on the receiving end of pushback from CNN staffers on Monday over last week’s unexpected resignation of longtime network president Jeff Zucker. According to tweets from Washington Post reporter Jeremy Barr citing CNN staffers who attended a staff meeting with Kilar, the WarnerMedia CEO sidestepped pointed questions about why Zucker’s exit was described as a “resignation” when reports suggest that Zucker would face firing if he did not agree.

The rapid-fire removal of Jeff Zucker as CNN’s president last week has led to a sustained backlash inside the organization. Anchors and reporters discussed their confusion on air; others confronted Warner Media chief Jason Kilar directly at a meeting inside the cable channel’s Washington bureau. Maybe what needs to change at CNN, then, is not the top person but the way their corporate chieftans deal with workplace romantic relationships at all levels.

Forty-eight hours after one of the media business’ more stunning executive exits in recent memory, speculation continues to swirl as to who, if anyone, put the knife in the back of former CNN chief Jeff Zucker, and what will happen now to the cable news network and its soon-to-launch digital offshoot, CNN Plus. On Friday, in separate CNBC appearances, Discovery CEO David Zaslav and AT&T chief executive John Stankey each, somewhat indirectly, addressed those concerns.

CNN’s is about to undergo a corporate ownership change, launch a paid streaming service and replace its most popular on-air host at a time of slumping ratings. It became clear Thursday that Jeff Zucker’s exit after nine years as CNN’s leader was anything but voluntary.

Many questions still swirl around Wednesday’s startling announcement that, after nine years, Jeff Zucker’s reign as CNN president was over. It will all eventually be revealed — teams of reporters are racing to dig into one of the biggest media stories in recent memory. But we already know one thing: When the dust settles, Zucker’s relationship with Donald Trump will define his legacy.

A relationship with a colleague. A Chris Cuomo investigation. A sudden departure amid big changes. Untangling a messy circle that could get messier.

Jeff Zucker’s surprise resignation from CNN on Wednesday quickly triggered puzzled questions over just what led to his ouster after revelations of his relationship with Allison Gollust, EVP and chief marketing officer for CNN Worldwide. But the relationship itself is not what triggered WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar’s call to Zucker in recent days informing him that he had to exit or face termination. Rather, it was Zucker’s failure to disclose the relationship, in violation of WarnerMedia policy.

Michael Bass, Amy Entelis and Ken Jautz will serve as interim co-heads of CNN following the resignation of Jeff Zucker. WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar indicated that the trio would lead the network on an interim basis through the close of the company’s merger with Discovery, which is expected in the spring or even earlier.

Jeff Zucker’s abrupt resignation on Wednesday as CNN’s president has put a spotlight on Allison Gollust, his longtime lieutenant and the network’s chief marketing officer. Gollust, who had worked with Zucker for decades and rejoined CNN in 2013 as his “closest colleague,” has been identified as the woman with whom Zucker had a “consensual relationship” that he did not disclose to CNN owner AT&T in apparent violation of company policies.

The network’s boss, Jeff Zucker, tries to make up for lost time by signing Chris Wallace, Audie Cornish and Eva Longoria.

Zucker, who was expected to leave CNN in December, will now stay on through the inception of CNN+, and into 2022. Amid rumors of a high-profile promotion at the forthcoming Warner Bros. Discovery, he has told at least one friend that he would be happier staying in his current position, building out the new company’s global news and sports businesses.

WarnerMedia News and Sports chairman Jeff Zucker said in a memo that CNN had been operating on the honor system by not requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination from employees returning to the office. “In the past week, we have been made aware of three employees who were coming to the office unvaccinated. All three have been terminated,” Zucker said.

Sources say Jeff Zucker may drop his plan to leave CNN at year’s end and instead remain head of the network, as a result of the massive merger of AT&T-Discovery media assets announced Monday morning. Driving the news: Nothing has been decided. But absent this tectonic media shift, Zucker — who’s chairman, WarnerMedia News and Sports, and president of CNN Worldwide — was gone. Now, the door is open for him to stay.

The once ardently neutral network doesn’t hesitate to call out officials. Welcome to the new CNN, where journalists and anchors, traditionally restricted by industry-wide standards of impartiality, have been given the green light under network President Jeff Zucker to say what they actually want to say — even if it strikes some as opinionated.

As the 45th president’s second impeachment trial arrives on Tuesday, CNN viewers might want to recall how Trump’s presidency came about in the first place. It was in no small part the work of CNN chief Jeff Zucker, who announced last week that he will leave the network at the end of 2021. It started with Trump’s celebrity breakout on The Apprentice two decades ago. Zucker was the NBC executive who used Trump to boost the network’s troubled ratings. In the process, he made Trump himself a household name.

According to multiple sources with knowledge, the CNN president confirmed in a morning editorial call that he will stay in his role through the year. This comes amid speculation about his future — and, thus, CNN’s future — and about his potential political ambitions. He was expected to step down early this year.