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. Laurene Powell Jobs donated over $2 million. Discovery , analyse how our Sites are used. It raises the question: Does super PAC funding, often with a hefty and opaque line-item labeled media spend,fund some of these outlets? There are just under 100 days until Election Day. But storm clouds were on the horizon. Farris Wilks, investor in the Daily Wire, gave $416,800 to Trump Victory and Club for Growth Action. Philip Anschutz, owner of the Washington Examiner, gave $168,500. "He had an incredible knack for developing strong relationships. "Jeff is a good friend of mine, I cant speak to this issue, we dont own the company yet," Zaslav said. Send us a tip using our annonymous form. We want to hear from you! According to campaignmoney.com, during the 2020 election cycle Zaslav donated $124,250 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee out of his total $253,250 in political donations. 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 [50], In 2017, Zaslav was inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame. After all, he intended to spend more time on it, and style is as important in tennis as it is in show business. In his New York days, Zaslav liked friends like Ron Perelman, Lorne Michaels and Jeff Zucker to hang at his Hamptons parties. That employee makes $66,689, so it would take them 565 years to equal Zaslavs annual compensation. or 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. Mediaite regrets the error. personalising content and ads, providing social media features and to President and CEO, Discovery David Zaslav speaks onstage during the Zaslav is expected to name Zuckers permanent replacement when the merger closes. According to Deadline, he even made it known that corporate procedures had to be followed to the letter in regards to Zucker., Have a tip we should know? The total accounted loss was nearly $25 billion off the company's market cap. 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. Definitely to the left. On Friday morning, he shocked CNBC hosts by calling the network 'the leader of news to the left'. And John Malone, when you hear him, hes still a big part of your life, a big part of Discovery, if he said we need CNN to go back to reporting news". YOU'VE REACHED YOUR MONTHLY ARTICLE LIMIT. Discovery CEO David Zaslav addressed the companys controversial decision this week to cancel releases for Batgirl and Scoob! It is intended to be the backbone of our civilization and functioning governance. His well-documented views were notsecret. "David Zaslav: "The future of cable is that it's declining" but says "It offers a unique proposition to advertisers. For cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the Settings & Account section. Zaslav earned a BS degree from Binghamton University. 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Get our latest storiesin the feed of your favorite networks. "Well have to see, really.". RobertIger, executive chairman of the Walt Disney Co. and who once ran ABC, gave over $1 million. The COVID-19 virus had accelerated cord-cutting that's causing cable TV channels to lose subscribers. [52], Zaslav lives in New York City with his wife Pam and the couple has three children. Anna Wintour, editor of Vogue, gave $6,000. 2023 Variety Media, LLC. 2023 CNBC LLC. The TV deal maker will head the new venture formed by his companys merger with AT&Ts WarnerMedia, as he seeks to build a streaming juggernaut. David Zaslav, Discovery's CEO, will lead the combined Discovery-WarnerMedia. Discovery in April 2022. (CNBC Screenshot). Zaslavs comment drew a surprised response from CNBC host Joe Kernan, who wondered aloud if it was a reference to CNNs ideological bent. Transparency matters. Last November, Zaslav told Deadline that he would take a hands-on approach at CNN and other WarnerMedia properties. See Barrs tweets at the bottom of this post. Discovery Chief David Zaslav 2020 Pay Drops to $37.7 Million. Hilton Howell of Gray Television gave $17,600. We support credit card, debit card and PayPal payments. Together, Discovery and WarnerMedia will span every genre from Hollywood movies and TV shows to reality TV, to news and sports. Discovery in April 2022. LIBERTY MEDIA CHAIRMAN CHIDES CNN TO 'ACTUALLY HAVE JOURNALISTS' FOLLOWING AT&T-DISCOVERY MERGER, "None of us had anything to do with it. "From my perspective, news is going to be a critical element," Zaslav said. But here is where it fell short. ", Zaslavs comments contradict a Deadline report that Malone "made it known that corporate procedures had to be followed to the letter in regards to Zucker," therefore, "being that WarnerMedias standards of business conduct require disclosure of relationships that develop with a boss and subordinate, Zuckers goose was officially cooked.". 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. organisation 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. Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. Safra Catz, the CEO of Oracle, gave $125,000 in May to the Trump Victory committee, a joint fundraising operation between the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee. didn't, they say, have many progressive ideas. 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. Where the country was when we launched MSNBC was much more fact-based and less divided.. We have this great entertainment menu, which should keep people in the home, from the kids to the grandparents. But not disclosing a consensual relationship rarely results in the defenestration of a network president. Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) has reported financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31st 2022. Scrambling to walk back the comments, Discoverys team said Zaslav often uses the phrases the left or the right to reference current and future business initiatives. Zaslavs generous compensation plan continues the trend of rich COVID era paydays for media CEOs, some of whom made a show of forgoing a salary when the pandemic hit, only to quietly return to their former levels as the crisis dragged on. 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. [45] He also is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Paley Center for Media and the Mt. Standard Digital includes access to a wealth of global news, analysis and expert opinion. By subscribing, I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Did Elon Musk, one of the biggest donors to Wikipedia, reallygive only $40,000 to political leaders and causesin 2020-21? 1. Usually you ditch people. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. 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. Our system is awash in billions of political dollars. The lack of transparency in super PAC donations loomed as we scoured the FEC database. "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. Zaslav is also known as a CEO who keeps a tight rein on programming costs. 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. 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. Not long ago when he dropped by his new home he ordered some changes: Michael Smith, the celebrity designer who President Obama hired to design his private quarters at the White House, will now tackle the Evans house. David Zaslav the CEO of Discovery Inc., and Bob Iger, the former CEO of Disney who is now the companys executive chairman, are among the top executive His sole donation to a Republican politician, U.S. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said Friday on CNBC that he had nothing to do with Jeff Zuckers CNN exit. 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. He must also mobilize his charisma to keep his uneasy management in place during the one-year-plus period while lawyers and bankers hammer out legalities and obtain antitrust approval. 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. Did you say to the left? Kernan said, before taking back the question, saying he probably shouldnt have said that.. That leaves $1 billion unaccounted for. Zaslav spearheaded the transaction between AT&T and Discovery to combine with WarnerMedia and create the combined Warner Bros. 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. Discovery chief says 'Journalism First' is new mandate at CNN Zaslav laughed but did not retract his comment. And maybe, those legendary parties might start again. And even as Zaslav prepped the launch of streaming service Discovery+, which now has 15 million subscribers, he had thoughts about whether to suggest bundling Discovery with Disney, according to a person familiar with talks. Discovery CEO David Zaslav was confronted on Friday about the future of CNN, the liberal network he is set to oversee once a looming merger is official, but Brooklyn-born Zaslav attended high school in Rockland County, where he was captain of the tennis team. And then were the leader in news to the left, Zaslav told CNBC on Friday. Loeffler is running for reelection to the Senate. Email him here: joed@mediaite.com
Raising the corporate tax rate is not exactly conducive to growing revenue or earnings," Eberhart said. David Zaslav, the Discovery Inc. chief executive who has catapulted himself to the top of the media world through a wave of deal-making, will lead a new venture WebHome. 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. Sure, Henry Luce, the iconic publisher of Time, Fortuneand Life magazines, put his thumb on the scale. Fifty years ago, Evans had to worry about filling seats in Westwood, not expanding the subscriber list in Belarus. Overall, I think wed be better off if we just had news networks, but we dont.. Definitely to the left, Kernen said. + David Michael Zaslav (born January 15, 1960) is an American media executive who currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Warner Bros. In awarding Zaslav his 2020 cash bonus, the board determined the Discovery chief 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. It is nearly impossible to know where the money is spent,even if you can run down the roster of donors. You will be redirected back to your article in, Discovery's David Zaslav (inset) paid $16 million for Robert Evans' onetime Beverly Hills home, AMC CEO Adam Aron Defends New Sightline Ticket Pricing, Acknowledges Substantial Change To The Status Quo For U.S. Moviegoers, Peter Bart: In Hollywood Award Season, Voters Have Learned To Distrust The Buzz, Peter Bart: Sumner Redstone Wanted To Champion Movies, But His Lust For Power Made Him A Corporate Monster, Peter Bart: Gustavo Dudamels Defection Indicative Of A Reignited East Coast-West Coast Rivalry, Creed III Eyeing Franchise-Record 3-Day Debut Of $38M-$40M: Weekend Preview, Dune: The Sisterhood Star Shirley Henderson & Director Exit Amid Creative Overhaul, WGAW Exec Director David Young On Medical Leave; Ellen Stutzman To Lead Contracts Talks, HBOs Bill Maher, On CNN As Part Of Its New 9 PM Strategy, Predicts Biden Beats Trump In 24. : Holiday Heidi Legg is the lead research fellow at the Future of Media Project at the Institute for Quantitative Social Science at Harvard University. 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See Barrs tweets at the bottom of this post the Board of Trustees for the Paley for...