A fiercely ambitious man with an appetite for the theatrical, Zaslav paid $16 million for the late Bob Evans home in Beverly Hills, originally telling friends he may spend three months a year in Hollywood, creating a livelier aura for his Discovery Channel. Other top-paid Discovery executives included Chief Financial Officer Gunnar Wiedenfels, who earned $6.9 million in total compensation, down from the $7.4 million he earned in 2019. Zucker abruptly resigned this week after admitting he failed to properly disclose his relationship with another senior executive, CNN chief marketing officer Allison Gollust. Transparency matters. Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here. Standard Digital includes access to a wealth of global news, analysis and expert opinion. Definitely to the left, Kernen said. Get the best insights and analysis delivered to your inbox, 2,276 groups organized as super PACs have reported, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Zaslavs battles will be more expensive. Zaslav is on the board of Mexican programming giant Televisa, now merging with Univision. The government needs to catch up and revamp how we track media money in politics. [45][16], David Zaslav was awarded the Susan Newhouse & SI Newhouse Award of Hope for his support of the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD) in September 2016. But we dont. personalising content and ads, providing social media features and to Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy. Media mogul William Randolph Hearst famously declared, This is my newspaper, these are my views, take or leave it. Hearst boldly placed his editorials on the front page, with his picture, signed for Gods sake. There was no subterfuge. We need radical transparency from media and social media platforms on which politicians, super PACs and lobbyists they fund. Story tips can be sent tobrian.flood@fox.comand on Twitter: @briansflood. In September 2020, Zaslav confided to a close friend that he was concerned about the fate of the company he'd spent 15 years building. A web of other forces have been reported as influential in the demise of his CNN career: WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar, who currently oversees CNN, was said not to be a fan of Zuckers. met 98.2% of his quantitative goals and 100% of his qualitative goals. Our system is awash in billions of political dollars. Did you say to the left? Kernan said, before taking back the question, saying he probably shouldnt have said that.. The results were surprising. We want to hear from you! The CEOs of some of the biggest companies in the United States have started ramping up their donations to Republican causes as concern grows about Joe Biden's plan to raise the corporate tax rate. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox. Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg fund swaths of lobbyists in Washington. [45] His daughter Ali Zaslav is a congressional producer with CNN.[53]. Craig Newmark has donated close to $100 million to journalism schools, content moderation research, new digital media outletsand journalists, as have Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, and big foundations like the Knight Foundation, Heritage Foundation, Open Markets Instituteand Pierre Omidyars Democracy Fund. David A Discovery spokesperson told the Post that Zaslav didnt finish his thought, adding that he uses the phrase to organize his conversations around Discoverys business. Definitely to the left. I agree with TheWrap's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and provide my consent to receive marketing communications from them. But times have changed. The Discovery CEO also took aim at Fox News, describing the conservative outlet as much more of an advocacy network than a news network., I think overall wed probably be better off if we just had news networks in America, Zaslav said. It's now available in every corner of the globe. The company did not break out Discovery+ numbers specifically, so this tally includes its other, much smaller SVOD platforms, but the majority of that 20 million figure is made up of Discovery+ numbers, per Discovery. But Zaslav is likely to get at least a warm initial reception. So maybe Zaslav isnt offended by the transparent political bias Loeffler is running for reelection to the Senate. Discovery cant play any role in CNNs operations until the deal concludes. Sinclair Broadcasting and Nexstar executives give to the National Association of Broadcasters. I found these figures wanting. "Who do they want managing the economy: Trump (Mnuchin, Powell, Kudlow) or Biden (Bernie, Warren and AOC)?," Bailey said. 2023 Variety Media, LLC. Jeff Zucker is considered to be the person responsible for the CNNs shift away from the nonpartisan outlet it was before his tenure. The Discovery-WarnerMedia merger is expected to close in mid-2022. A continuously updated summary of the news stories that US political commentators are discussing online right now. [42][43][44], Zaslav serves on the boards of Sirius XM, The Cable Center, Center for Communication, Grupo Televisa, Partnership for New York City, Syracuse University and USC Shoah Foundation. Frederick Smith, who runs the billion dollar Sinclair media empire that once offered to do anything for Trump, must not have meant with cash, donating $6,800 to the GOP and $5,800 to Democratic Sen. ChuckSchumer. Is it a good one? Add to that the billions of dollars from super PACsused to fund political content pushed by new digital channels and influencers. In an interview on CNBC Friday, Discovery CEO David Zaslav, as part of an assessment of his brands portfolio, took stock of CNNs place in the public consciousness and said this: CNBC host Joe Kernen immediately seized on the comment. They received collectively more than $3 billion ($3,427,543,995) in the 2019-20 presidential election cycle and showed independent expenditures of more than $2.1 billion. David Zaslav has been enjoying a stock runup after Wall Street analysts expressed increased optimism about Warner Bros. or redistributed. About Us; Staff; Camps; Scuba. In fact, Zaslavclaimed Discovery didn't have anything to do with Zucker's stunning exit, when he was bluntly asked on CNBC about the future of CNN, as well as remarks by Liberty Media chairman John Malone last year that he wanted CNN to revert to more traditional journalism. Evans fought valiantly for Paramount to release Last Tango in Paris and Tropic of Cancer. And then were the leader in news to the left, Zaslav told CNBC on Friday. Simply log into Settings & Account and select "Cancel" on the right-hand side. Marc Benioff, the current owner of Time who's, active in homelessness issues in San Francisco,gave only $5,000 to his Salesforce.com PAC. Laurene Powell Jobs donated over $2 million. His reputation for speed gave Discovery an edge over Comcast as a merger partner. Zaslav, 61, his wife Pam, and his adult children, mingled with TV and movie industry friends, Page Six, CNBC and Fox News anchors, plastic surgeons, and interior designers. Disclosure: Mathias Dpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member. and other data for a number of reasons, such as keeping FT Sites reliable and secure, Same goes for Jason Kilars future, we presume. There are just under 100 days until Election Day. Indeed, after the Discovery and Scripps deal, Zaslav promised to wring $350 million in synergies from the business, but by the time the integration was done, the Discovery boss had cut his way to $1 billion. His salary remained locked at $3 million. [50], In 2017, Zaslav was inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame. Henry Kravis and George Roberts, owners of Business Insider and the German news empire Axel Springer and who recently purchased Politico and co-founded KKR Private Equity, collectively gave over $1.2 million. That may now stretch to nine months, since Zaslav, having negotiated the $43 billion Discovery-AT&T deal, has now expanded his domain to include Warner Bros, HBO and CNN. The combined company, worth $120 billion in enterprise value, would unite Discovery with AT&T's WarnerMedia, home to CNN, HBO, and Warner Bros. A person familiar with the deal told Insider that AT&T didn't consider Comcast a viable partner because it was likely to be a slow-moving conversation, held up by thorny regulatory issues. "Well have to see, really.". All Rights Reserved. Pamela Wasserstein, owner of Vox and New York magazine, gave $8,100. Too many people in power are gaming the system. tips@mediaite.com, Joe DePaolo is a Senior Editor at Mediaite. CNN, which has struggled to attract viewers during the Biden era,is part of the deal and many industry observers felt the decision to revert to more straight news began this week when Zucker was forced out. The boss ofCNNs new parent companysaid on Friday the network was the leader in news to the left but his communications team soon scrambled to walk back the frank admission, insisting he wasnt talking about politics. His corporate boss, Charles Bluhdorn, facing him in his screening room, shouted that public companies could not dabble in porn. He then decided to re-run the films. Brian Flood is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Look up your friends and patriotsat the FEC. It is intended to be the backbone of our civilization and functioning governance. Man, you werent kidding, Kernen said, also laughing. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Insider say he's known for relationship building but also being demanding with staff. His Facebook page is full of old school friendships and trips with the former GE CEO, Jack Welch. David Zaslav is a talented and driven man who understands change. Listen to a portion New York (CNN Business)Discovery ( DISCA) CEO David Zaslav praised CNN on Friday and said "news is going to be really critical" to the future of the soon to be combined Warner Bros. Discovery, despite the sudden ouster of CNN boss Jeff Zucker earlier this week. I do. The development comes as the presumptive Democratic nominee has expanded his lead in the polls over President Donald Trump. Overall, the combined content spend of WarnerMedia and Discovery totaled $19 billion last year, more than Disney or even Netflix. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. CEO David Zaslav has quickly put his stamp on Warner Bros. The issue is that not enough of his We've received your submission. "It's clear Team Trump needs to break the glass and pull the fire alarm. Market data provided by Factset. Afsaneh Beschloss, NPR Board of Directors, gave $614,300. Zaslav, known for delivering fast yes or nos to business partners, would be able to move ahead with speed. She owns The Atlantic, could still be the largest shareholder of Disney/ABCand funds many digital news nonprofits through the American Journalism Project, which her Emerson Collective helped to create. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, whose media giant is set to close itsmerger with CNNs owner WarnerMediathis spring, made the surprise remark during a discussion about the networks future days after theabrupt resignation of the networks president, Jeff Zucker. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. "He's masterful at presenting himself as an aw-shucks guy from Rockland County, but underneath in the middle of a deal he's more aggressive than one of the great whites on 'Shark Week,'" said a friend. Over the years, Diana Ross, Rod Stewart, and Harry Connick Jr. performed for an A-List crowd that included Jamie Dimon, Oprah Winfrey, Ron Howard, and tennis star Boris Becker, to name a few. But what sort of a time will it be? analyse how our Sites are used. President and CEO, Discovery David Zaslav speaks onstage during the I think Fox News is much more of an advocacy network than a news network, Zaslav said, according to Washington Post media reporter Jeremy Barr. [3][4][5] He previously served as the Chief Executive Officer and president of Discovery, Inc. beginning on November 16, 2006 and ending on April 8, 2022, when it was merged with WarnerMedia. Send us a tip using our annonymous form. WebHome. Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. That bit of corporate sorcery has now prompted him to re-invent the Zaslav legacy indeed to re-shape it in the aura of the Evans legacy. Holiday Haunt. Marc Rowan at Apollo Management, the private equity firm that recently acquired Yahoo News for $5 billion, gave $1.75 million. So I think it's going to be around a lot longer than people think.". organisation David Zaslav does not give an answer when asked about Jeff Zucker's future at a combined WarnerMedia and Discovery because the deal hasn't closed yet, Ken Auletta: "What's the future of cable? The tennis court, he decided, needed to be moved three feet, and changed to a clay surface. Other notable S&P 500 CEO contributions to Republican led groups in the second quarter include Robert Bradway, the chief executive of biopharmaceutical company Amgen; Daniel Amos, the CEO of insurance giant Aflac; and Gregory Brown, the CEO of Motorola Solutions. "Jeff is a good friend of mine, I cant speak to this issue, we dont own the company yet," Zaslav said. or This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, He also said, per Deadline: I think overall wed probably be better off if we just had news networks in America, rather than those with an opinion element. U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during a roadside stop in Bedminster, New Jersey, U.S., July 26, 2020. No surprise, Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan collectivelygave over $2.5 million, mostly to Republicans. If youd like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial. offers FT membership to read for free. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2022 and Malones comment left many CNN staffers with a sense of uneasiness about the networks future. Jeff Bezos, who owns The Washington Post, gave but $15,000over the past20 months through his PACs Blue Origin and Amazon while his net worth grew to near $200 billion. Those two tend to split viewers, and Fox News is regularly No. All rights reserved. Biden has said he wants to raise the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21%. "How many people survive after a merger? But even if that crowd decided to arrive, it would not include the late Evans or his panache (he died in 2019). You can still enjoy your subscription until the end of your current billing period. ", JEFF ZUCKER OUT AT CNN AFTER FAILING TO DISCLOSE CONSENSUAL RELATIONSHIP WITH COLLEAGUE: I WAS WRONG. Together, Discovery and WarnerMedia will span every genre from Hollywood movies and TV shows to reality TV, to news and sports. That was down from the $45.8 million that Zaslav pulled in the pr It raises the question: Does super PAC funding, often with a hefty and opaque line-item labeled media spend,fund some of these outlets? Where the country was when we launched MSNBC was much more fact-based and less divided.. 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Amanda Edwards/Getty Images for Discovery, NOW WATCH: Customers expect CEOs to take action against climate change now more than ever, Unilever executive says, would unite Discovery with AT&T's WarnerMedia, which could concern WarnerMedia employees, "move-fast and break things" style of the WarnerMedia's current chief executive, Jason Kilar. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said Friday on CNBC that he had nothing to do with Jeff Zuckers CNN exit. But his new target list may include Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Reese Witherspoon or even the old Evans crowd like Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman. Sinai Medical Center. SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY NEWSLETTER, FIRST TAKE, Less Than Half of U.S. Discovery+ Subscribers Are Also HBO Max Customers, David Zaslav Says, Discoverys David Zaslav Wants Industry to Leave Nielsen in the Dust. To figure this out, we are in desperate need of a real-time database for super PAC spending,along with transparency on which media and platform owners fund lobbyists. Only 14.5% of the 412 owners, executives, board members and investors had given to individual candidates, traditional PACs or super PACs from January 2020 to August 2021, as trackedby the FEC. "I would like to see CNN evolve back to the kind of journalism that it started with, and actually have journalists, which would be unique and refreshing,"Malonesaid in an interview that aired on CNBC. Discovery executives are treating Zuckersunexpected exit as a fresh startfor CNN, according to the networks own media reporter, Brian Stelter. During Thursdays meeting, Zaslav warned that staff reductions were likely as he continued to remove layers of management and combines jobs. Any changes made can be done at any time and will become effective at the end of the trial period, allowing you to retain full access for 4 weeks, even if you downgrade or cancel. Barry Diller, owner of The Daily Beast and Investopedia, gave $120,000. The index wasmore popular than anticipated. Is this newly minted class of wealth really absent from politics and political influence? To sustain that position, Zaslav will have to drastically readjust his spending habits. Philip Anschutz, owner of the Washington Examiner, gave $168,500. Follow him on Twitter: @joe_depaolo. RobertIger, executive chairman of the Walt Disney Co. and who once ran ABC, gave over $1 million. He's known for sporting the sleeveless fleece vests popular with financial industry executives and for bringing swag bags to meetings. Zaslav's executive compensation package includes an annual salary of $3 million with an annual $22 million bonus. Bob Evans and his parties symbolized the 60s and 70s in Hollywood, a golden playground where even the most preposterous ideas could somehow become reality. The Discovery Channel started in 1985 with a documentary about the frigid waters of the North Atlantic. Discovery CEO Zaslav Surprises CNBC Host By Saying CNN is The Leader in News to the Left of Discoverys Portfolio (Correction) By Joe DePaolo Feb 4th, 2022, 9:07 am Twitter share button becoming the first announced candidate for the party. Last week,Discovery reportedit had reached 20 million paying streaming subscribers worldwide by the end of September. 1. The Evans events promised a sort of promiscuous elegance: Behind one door you would find the esteemed Helmut Newton photographing two lissome nudes passionately entwined; or Teddy Kennedy swigging beer amidst a bevy of starlets; or Henry Kissinger explaining Vietnam policy to Jill St. John; or agent Sue Mengers disseminating film gigs along with quality weed. Legal Statement. "Plus, David actually shows up. Though Zaslav himself did not dispute the context of the comment when Joe Kernen asked for clarification, his true intent was made clear when Zaslav followed up by saying he views sports as being on the right side of the portfolio. David Zaslav, who led the merger with CNN and Discovery, donated over $240,000. David M. Zaslav (born January 15, 1960) is the president and chief executive officer of Discovery Inc., a position he has held since January 2007. Most recently under Zaslav, Discovery acquired Scripps Networks Interactive, in a transaction which closed in March 2018. He was previously an executive at NBCUniversal. Discovery in April 2022. If you do nothing, you will be auto-enrolled in our premium digital monthly subscription plan and retain complete access for $69 per month. People helping raise money for these Republican organizations told CNBC that the idea of taxes going up has struck a nerve with GOP donors and forced them off the sidelines after being largely absent throughout the 2020 election cycle. And now, the former lawyer for Discovery founder John Hendricks is the new king of media, set to oversee $20 billion in content spend, topping Netflix's $17 billion. James Murdoch, who left the family Fox News business, donated over $2.25 Change the plan you will roll onto at any time during your trial by visiting the Settings & Account section. Spurred by the rapid proliferation of social media platforms, with questionable content,and a formerpresident who pummeled our free press repeatedly, its no wonder Americans are left wary and our information ecosystem is in shambles. James Zelter, co-president and CIO of Apollo Global Management that owns Yahoo News, gave $35,900 to Republicansand $25,200 to Democrats. Raising the corporate tax rate is not exactly conducive to growing revenue or earnings," Eberhart said. Discovery is required to publish the ratio to Zaslavs pay to those of its median employee as part of the Dodd-Frank law. [52], Zaslav lives in New York City with his wife Pam and the couple has three children. Discovery Chief Executive Officer David Zaslavs total compensation fell more than 17% in 2020, topping out at $37.7 million. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Billionaire Paul Singer, who claimed, post the CNN-Discovery merger, that his activism brought the deal about, balanced things out with his $1.7 million. Premium Digital includes access to our premier business column, Lex, as well as 15 curated newsletters covering key business themes with original, in-depth reporting. Jeffrey Sprecher, the CEO of the Intercontinental Exchange and husband to Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., who came under scrutiny for their stock dealings during the start of the coronavirus pandemic, gave nearly $1.3 million during the April-June quarter. Zaslav interrupted, "John is going to be a board member of this company, and I am the operating--," before Kernen spoke over him asking if he had anything to do with Zuckers exit. Warner Bros. cookies The combination has promised $3 billion in synergies. AT&T CEO John Stankey, who oversees WarnerMedia, has been focused on the merger with Discovery, and is thought to be disinterested in any aspect of the CNN operation. That leaves $1 billion unaccounted for. For context, OpenSecrets reported that political spending in the 2020 election reached $14 billion, the most expensive election ever. I wrote about why I got a COVID shot:Then I was fired from my job. Of those donations, $1 million went to America First Action, a pro-Trump super PAC. Zaslav is also known as a CEO who keeps a tight rein on programming costs. Of the top 10 political donors among S&P 500 CEOs, a majority gave big to GOP groups in the second quarter, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics. Zaslav was speaking at the Paley International Council Summit when he made the remarks, which were covered by several news outlets virtually attending the media event. The most significant donation record of any media owner was Michael Bloomberg, who donated $140 million during his run for president. Then, sheepishly taking back his question, Kernen said, that was an aside. Using the original ownership index, we tracked the political donations at 90 of the top U.S. news organizations. Most importantly, they're already global. + He's used his salary to buy some of the most sought-after real estate around, buying the Hollywood home of "The Godfather" film director Robert Evans for $16 million and snapping up Conan O'Brien's apartment on Central Park West.