WBD Head David Zaslav Visits CNN
Issue #116 — Was his timing a planned occurrence or was it to quieten the anti-Chris Licht narratives?
WBD Head David Zaslav Visits CNN
As the person who oversees the entire Warner Bros. Discovery portfolio, David Zaslav making the rounds visiting various divisions should be expected and warranted. His presence at CNN's New York offices this past week made news only because of its timing.
A report from the Page Six gossip site surfaced this week with the talk being that CNN CEO, Chris Licht, could be on his way out. Licht, who will be marking his first anniversary as the head of the network in May, has not had a smooth go of it so far being at the helm.
He was the one who had to pull the plug on CNN Plus, even though that decision came from those above him. Earlier in his tenure, he claimed CNN would not be impacted by the layoffs spreading across WBD but had to walk that statement back later in the year as he had to steer CNN through some severe job cuts, which saw the elimination of under 400 positions as well as the shuttering of HLN.
Licht, a former morning show and late-night producer, inherited a CNN that was already reeling from declining ratings (something his predecessor Jeff Zucker had tried to slow down with a revamped lineup but got distracted with the launch of CNN Plus as his tenure came to an end). So far, his attempts at remaking the network haven’t yielded any positive results.
His morning show, CNN This Morning, has so far generated more negative press than positive viewership stemming from Don Lemon and his fractious relationship with his co-anchors. Help for the morning show is on the way — See the Quick Recap section below.
Finally, Licht has had to contend with Zucker loyalists still stationed within CNN. They have been the primary reason there’s a constant drip of negative news about his time at CNN. Licht is the scapegoat for the previous management’s handling of the entire Zucker situation, and with the belt-tightening instituted by the current WBD brass, the rosy, spend freely days of the previous regime are gone; therefore, it seems with this new reality upon them Licht is the closest one they can inflict pain on.
It’s a lot Licht has to deal with, some of it warranted, some unwarranted, so the timing of Zalsav’s visit only led to more talk about the head honcho’s motives for dropping by.
Zalsav was there for a town hall meeting with around 600 CNN managers and used his platform to defend Licht, albeit in a backhanded way, saying, “There’s not a playbook for Chris’ job. He’s gotten a lot wrong. We’ve gotten a lot wrong. That’s how it works.”
He tried to rally the troops by telling them not to pay attention to the ratings saying, “ratings be damned,” and encouraged them to experiment and be not afraid of failure, adding, “let’s get a lot wrong in the next year.”
Zaslav’s visit also allowed him to get a preview of the network’s branding strategy, check out the new studio for CNN’s daytime programming block CNN News Central, a meeting with Washington programming chief Eric Sterling, who is Licht’s lead choice to become CNN’s U.S. programming chief, and meeting with the recently appointed head of CNN Digital Athan Stephanopoulos for a briefing on the network’s new digital strategy.
Licht also used Zaslav’s visit as an opportunity to offer those who aren’t happy with what his doing at the network to be helped with finding new employment elsewhere.
Whatever Zaslav’s intentions were for dropping by CNN, it’s clear that in the interim, Licht has been given some space to fully flesh out what he wants to do with the news network. Once all that is in place, then maybe a proper judgment of his performance can be made, and at that time, if things haven’t improved, a timer can then be started.
(Page Six, New York Post, New York Times, TVNewser)
RECAP
Was Troy Aikman The Reason For MNF Production Crew Swap?
The NFL offseason of 2022 will primarily be remembered not for the player movements but for the movement of the game callers from one network to another. Most notable were Joe Buck and Troy Aikman moving from their long-time home of Fox Sports to ESPN’s Monday Night Football. The move, by all accounts, was a resounding success, especially for ESPN, who finally had an announcing crew worthy of calling the Super Bowl when it airs on its network and ABC in 2026. The 2023 offseason had been quiet until it was revealed that ESPN switched out MNF director Jimmy Platt and producer Phil Dean for Derek Mobley and Steve Ackels, respectively. The sports network said the reason for the swap was to “best position our overall football coverage,” but reports trickling out indicate that Aikman did not like working with the duo and made his feelings known to ESPN management. Allegedly the discomfort began from week one with a contractor accusing Aikman of “dogging the crew and gear on the air...” Such personnel switches typically do not happen without the broadcast booth being clued in about it. Whatever the reason behind the switcheroo, Aikman will most certainly be blamed for it by the remaining crew, and it could make for a not-so-comfortable 2023 NFL season, at least from a behind-the-scenes standpoint. (Awful Announcing )
Diamond Sports Group Files For Bankruptcy
It finally happened; Diamond Sports Group, the parent company of the Bally Sports regional sports networks (RSNs), filed for bankruptcy, the Chapter 11 kind. Once considered cash cows, the RSNS became one of the primary victims of the cord-cutting era, and as a result, they are bleeding a lot of money. The RSNs are responsible for airing games from 42 teams, some located in big-tier markets, spanning the NBA, NHL, and MLB. With the start of the baseball season right around the corner, the timing couldn’t have been worse for the MLB, which now has to navigate an upcoming season with no guarantee that all games will be available to sports fans. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has indicated the league will step in if things get worse, which already seems to be headed that way now that DSG missed a rights payment for the Arizona Diamondbacks and is considering dropping them as well as the Cleveland Guardians, San Diego Padres, and the Cincinnati Reds due to not being able to recoup enough money from airing those games to cover the cost and then some of paying expensive rights fees. As it navigates bankruptcy protection, DSG will have to do it as a stand-alone company, a separation from the Sinclair Broadcasting Group, its now former owner, was initiated to satisfy a debt-for-equity swap with its creditors. (Axios, New York Post)
QUICK RECAP
Carrie Budoff Brown named SVP, Politics at NBC News. (TVNewser)
Christine Cook named chief revenue officer at Bloomberg Media. (AdWeek)
Osman Ensari named SVP of business transformation and corporate affairs at CNBC. (TVNewser)
Katia Porzecanski named Bloomberg News New York Bureau chief. (Talking biz News)
Matt Dixon joins NBC News Digital as a senior politics reporter. (TVNewser)
Greg Gumbel re-signs with CBS News; will give up NFL duties. (Sports Business Journal)
Pablo Torre leaves ESPN for Meadowlark Media. (Variety)
Kate Lunger is leaving CNN after 30 years. (TVNewser)
March Madness: Mark Grant becomes 1st Black lead director for CBS Sports and WBD Sports’ March Madness coverage. (Front Office Sports)
March Madness: Thursday opening day numbers are the best in eight years. (Front Office Sports)
Dominion vs. Fox News: Has the case doomed Fox News? (New York Magazine)
Dominion vs. Fox News: 21% of viewers trust Fox News less after the latest finding. (Variety)
Dominion vs. Fox News: CNN to air promos during March Madness that indirectly take aim at Fox News. (Variety)
Dominion vs. Fox News: What’s the fallout of Fox News’ public shaming? (The New Yorker)
Dominion vs. Fox News: Newsmax's ratings surge after the 2020 elections scared Fox News. (The Wall Street Journal)
Dominion vs. Fox News: Fox News feared competitors would use its proprietary newsgathering processes. (The Washington Post)
Dominion vs. Fox News: Fox News enlisted D-list right-wingers to defend them. (The Daily Beast)
The Gary Lineker/BBC Scandal: BBC leadership is feeling the pressure. (The Guardian)
The Gary Lineker/BBC scandal: The scandal is causing a staff strike at the broadcast organization. (Deadline)
The Gary Lineker/BBC scandal: Lineker to return to Match of the Day. (The Guardian)
Profile: ABC News’ Kim Godwin on how she handled the network’s crises. (Vanity Fair)
Profile: Jen Psaki will now ask the questions for MSNBC. (Los Angeles Times)
Profile: Margaret Brennan on hosting CBS News’ Face the Nation and being the Sunday morning bright spot. (People)
Profile: Margaret Brennan celebrates five years of hosting CBS News’ Face The Nation. (Multichannel News)
Profile: CNN's Jake Tapper on the lead turning 10. (Esquire)
BBC asks its staff to delete the TikTok app from their work phones. (Deadline)
Disney's Bob Iger is deciding what to do with ESPN and Hulu.
Alleged BBC News bias to be called out by U.K.’s Labour Party. (The Guardian)
Disney Plus users stayed with the streaming service even after the December price hike. (The Wall Street)
CNN This Morning adds two new executive producers. (CNN Press Room)
Wall Street upgrades give WBD stock a boost. (Yahoo! Finance)
Tubi to hold a pre-upfront event for advertisers on March 23. (MediaPost)
Disney Plus sign-ups are higher compared to its competitors. (Antenna)
Primetime for news networks is now in the afternoons. (New York Times)
Newsmax's stand-off with DirecTV may be nearing an end. (TVNewser)
Netflix is looking at building its own advertising tech. (DigiDay)
NBC News is working hard at building out its streaming venture. (Variety)
Media news women discuss the impact of Barbara Walters’ legacy. (New York Magazine)
MSNBC celebrates the debut of Jen Psaki’s new show. (TVNewser)
CNN wins its first Oscar courtesy of Navalny. (CNN Press Room)
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A MarkHenry Media LLC publication - Issue #116 - 2023