Former CNN Chief Jeff Zucker On The Hunt For Entertainment, Media & Sports Companies

Jeff Zucker, who ran CNN for nearly a decade, will handle $1 billion in capital being contributed from Abu Dhabi-backed Worldwide Media Investments, IMI, and Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital Companions to go after engaging M&A alternatives within the media & leisure house.

The funding goes into a partnership called RedBird IMI, and can doubtless pursue related belongings to these within the Redbird portfolio, which has $7 billion in capital underneath administration and deep ties within the leisure business, most just lately backing Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in November in a automobile referred to as Artists Fairness (AE).

AE is an artist-led studio which broadens entry to revenue participation, fuels mental property monetization via creator partnerships and leverage a data-driven method to content material distribution. The primary mission options Affleck as director and Damon as star of a film of the actual life story behind the Air Jordan Model. It’s being produced in partnership with Amazon Studios, Skydance Sports activities and Mandalay Photos.

“Traditionally, the success of a movie was based mostly on its field workplace efficiency. Now, with the rise of streaming, the enterprise behind filmmaking has intrinsically modified. Nonetheless, Ben and I do know that the facility will proceed to be within the hand of the creators, regardless of which path the business evolves,” mentioned Matt Damon, Chief Content material Officer of AE.

Basically, the enterprise is ready as much as put extra of the income from films and TV exhibits into the palms of expertise. Many in Hollywood have been upset with revenue participation agreements which relied on the normal income mannequin the place many of the revenues have been derived from field workplace and DVD.

With streaming taking off and lots of content material firms shifting the movies rapidly from the field workplace window to their very own streaming companies, many excessive profile actors, administrators and producers have claimed that they aren’t getting their justifiable share of the income.

One other enterprise Redbird has a stake in is Skydance Media which was shaped by David Ellison and has produced such hits as Prime Gun: Maverick and the Jack Ryan TV present on Apple
AAPL
Prime Video in addition to Mission Unimaginable: Lifeless Reckoning and Transformers : Rise of the Beast (each popping out subsequent yr).

Different investments embody a bit of Fenway Sports activities Group (which owns the Boston Pink Sox, Fenway Park and Liverpool Soccer Membership) and LeBron James’ SpringHill.

SpringHill, which produces “The Shop” on HBO, the Warner Bros. film “Area Jam: A New Legacy” and different content material, was valued at $725 million when RedBird, Nike and Epic Video games (producer of Fortnite) took an fairness stake within the firm final yr.

IMI was established in Abu Dhabi’s Media Zone Authority and is targeted on world digital media investments, though to this point most of its investments have been within the United Arab Emirates (UAE
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). Belongings in its portfolio embody Al Roeya (an Arabic digital and print publication within the UAE), EuroNews, The Nationwide (additionally a UAE information service) and Sky Information Arabia.

Zucker, the previous CEO of NBC Common, left the place after Comcast
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acquired the corporate in 2011. He later joined CNN in 2013 and resigned in 2022 after it was found that he failed to disclose a romantic relationship with considered one of his high workers.

“As a part of the investigation into Chris Cuomo’s tenure at CNN, I used to be requested a few consensual relationship with my closest colleague, somebody I’ve labored with for greater than 20 years,” Zucker informed workers in a memo. “I acknowledged the connection developed lately. I used to be required to reveal it when it started however I didn’t. I used to be incorrect. Because of this, I’m resigning right this moment.”

Zucker grew money movement at CNN U.S. by 163% to over $900 million throughout his tenure there. IMI has a longtime relationship with CNN, which has a big media bureau in Abu Dhabi, and this helped pave the way in which to getting this deal achieved.