LEAD STORY
Zucker Fallout: Allison Gollust Resigns From CNN
As CNN seeks to find its footing after the sudden exit of its leader Jeff Zucker at the beginning of the month, employees at the network hard to endure another week of negative attention due to the resignation of Allison Gollust, the head of its public relations and marketing departments.
Gollust’s resignation was a surprise and, at the same time, not a surprise as she was supposedly the main reason as to why Zucker is no longer at CNN. She and Zucker acknowledged their relationship, which was a no-no at WarnerMerdia as Zucker was Gollust’s direct boss to lawyers investigating the Cuomo fiasco.
But, the reason for Zucker’s dismissal felt flimsy, and employees and folks outside the company believed there was something more sinister that caused it. Gollust’s resignation provided some additional context to what happened.
According to a memo sent to employees by Jason Kilar, WarnerMedia’s CEO, Zucker, Gollust, and Cuomo, were said to have violated the company’s policies and CNN’s News Standards and Practices. Rather than face a firing, Gollust decided to resign.
What precisely those violations are still not known, but one report has it being her proximity to former New York Governor during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, Cuomo would provide Gollust with a list of questions, and she, in turn, would give those questions to CNN’s show producers, making her a defacto booker.
Another report provides another layer in that Gollust was not honest when she said her relationship with Zucker became more intimate during the pandemic. Too many of their relationship was an open secret for years, and by her saying that, she lied to CNN’s audiences with that statement.
Gollust pushed back, saying that her actions, acting like a booker, were not all that out of the ordinary and were well known within the halls at CNN. She also stood by her statement that her relationship with Zucker evolved during the pandemic.
It was surprising that she chose to remain with CNN after Zucker left as all the attention turned towards her, and it would have made her presence within the network’s offices all that more uncomfortable.
With CNN expected to have a new owner in Discovery in the next few months having Gollust around would not have been the fresh start that the network needed.
(NPR, CNN Business, New York Times, The Washington Post)
RECAP
ViacomCBS rebrands to Paramount
Old is new again as one of the storied media companies switches its clunky corporate name to one that is much more recognizable. ViacomCBS, this past week, became Paramount Global, “or more simply, Paramount,” according to CEO Bob Bakish and Shari Redstone, non-executive chair of the company’s Board of Directors in a joint company memo. One reason for the change is that they want to align more closely to their flagship streaming service Paramount Plus, which is showing signs of growth as it now stands at 32.8 million subscribers. (Deadline, Front Office Sports/Twitter, The Streamable)
NBC Sports & CBS Sports Interested In Acquiring The Big Ten
With its current contract with Fox Sports and ESPN expiring this summer, the Big Ten college conference is attracting additional suitors, which will drive up the asking price. It is said that the Big Ten will be the first college conference to go past $1 billion per year with its next media rights deal. NBC Sports and CBS Sports are showing interest in acquiring rights to the conference, and with ESPN and Fox Sports not looking to let go of what they have, things are about to become intense when the negotiating window opens up. With powerhouse schools such as the University of Michigan and Ohio State University as part of the conference it is easy to see why it is highly sought after by sports networks. (Sports Business Journal, Awful Announcing)
Over 110 Million Watched This Years Super Bowl
Last year’s Super Bowl shocked media executives and the NFL with an audience number that failed to cross the 100 million mark. Would this year’s matchup produce the same result? Thankfully, that’s not the case as the Los Angeles Rams emerged victorious over the Cincinnati Bengals in front of an audience of over 112.3 million viewers. This was the most-watched show in five years. 101.1 million watched the game on either NBC or Telemundo, and the remaining 11.2 million viewers watched it on a digital platform, including Peacock. The massive numbers also helped the Olympics, which aired after the game with 24 million viewers watching the winter games. (NBC Sports Group Press Box, Richard Deitsch/Twitter)
QUICK RECAP
Winter Olympics: NBC Sports’ Olympics deal is looking bad now. (Associated Press)
Winter Olympics: Despite the low ratings for the Olympics, NBC Sports might make a profit. (The Washington Post)
Zucker Fallout: CNN’s leadership doesn’t follow its own rules. (The Guardian)
Katie Phang joins MSNBC, anchoring on the weekends and streaming. (NBCUniversal Media Village)
Gloria Pazmino joins CNN as a Newscource correspondent. (CNN PR/Twitter)
Quina Burns was named executive producer of the Tamron Hall Show. (Broadcasting+Cable)
NBA host and reporter Cassidy Hubbarth re-signs with ESPN. (ESPN Press Room)
CNBC staffs up by adding Christina Cheddar Berk, Dawn Kopecki, Michele Theodore, Spencer Kimball, and John Rosevear. (Talking Biz News)
Wilfred Frost leaves CNBC. (Wilfred Frost/Twitter)
Whoopi Goldberg is back on ABC News’ The View. (Brian Stelter/Twitter)
AMC’s streaming services have 9 million subscribers. (The Streamable)
DAZN clears its debt. (Awful Announcing)
CNN Plus has been added to CNN’s main website. (NewscastStudio)
NBC Sports debuts a new score bug during the Super Bowl. (Awful Announcing)
Former ESPNer Mike Golic Sr. joins DraftKings. (New York Post)
ESPN’s Dick Vitale has a successful vocal surgery. (ESPN Press Room)
Netflix is still tops when it comes to streaming. (The Streamable)
Brian Stelter gets a daily show on CNN Plus. (CNN Press Room)
Fox News’ global streaming service expands into Africa. (TVNewser)
One of the FUBU founders is launching a streaming service. (The Streamable)
Turner Sports Charles Barkley is likely to retire after the current deal expires. (Awful Announcing)
Showtime subscriptions will be added to Paramount Plus. (The Streamable)
With Rachel Maddow gone from MSNBC, her ratings have gone down by 26.%. (Forbes)
Eli Manning says they are committed to keep doing the Manningcast. (Axios)
TelevisaUnivision to launch streaming service Vix and Vix Plus. (The Streamable)
Discovery Plus is launching an ad lite version in the UK. (Broadcasting+Cable)
NBC Sports’ Michele Tafoya moves from sports to politics. (Awful Announcing)
DAZN joins forces with the Buzzer app. (The Streamable)
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A MarkHenry Media LLC publication - Issue #78 - 2022