Warner Bros. Discovery CEO Shoots Down Plans for More Streaming Discovery under the management structure unveiled for the new company that is set to emerge on Monday, Variety has learned. 2023 Warner Bros. Zaslav brought Oprahs cable network, OWN, into the Discovery family of networks. Zaslav. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has started to feel like a villain in a Real Housewives show. The story of cable television begins in a lot of places, but lets pick it up in the mid-1980s, when CNN, MTV, ESPN and HBO were subjects of business-world curiosity more than envy. (Malones early support had helped get CNBC off the ground.). Contact Morgan Wallen The Company is also actively searching to fill the role of Chair and CEO for Warner Bros. They were called cable cowboys for good reason. Search [16], Zaslav joined NBC in 1989. David Zaslav's Phone Number and Email Last Update. Discovery President and CEO Jan 2007. He hasnt deviated from that position since. Under his leadership, Discovery launched some of the fastest-growing cable networks in the U.S.; achieved numerous milestones for viewership of domestic brands, including Animal Planet, HGTV, Food Network and TLC; and curated a collection of world-class brands and global IP that created the foundation for discovery+. While the margins abroad arent as fat as the U.S. ones, the boss delights in the brands prominence and the Wild West feeling that comes from growing in places like Brazil and Mexico. Customer Contact. He also praised his DC Studios chiefs James Gunn and Peter Safran. In some cases, executives declined offers to stay in different capacities. Culture critics talk of a golden age of television, in which a once trashy medium has come to patronize enduring dramatic triumphs like HBOs Sopranos or AMCs Breaking Bad. Zaslavs first job in the industry was at NBC, where he worked in the legal department. TLC for family and understanding. As a teen, Zaslav, who grew up in Brooklyn and Monsey, N.Y., was a very good tennis playerhe says he could have been one of the states best had he not tried to coast on his natural ability. Zaslav even made a lifelong friend of Fred Dressler, Time Warner Cables chief negotiator, who, given his companys CNN stake, was wary of CNBC. Zaslav also received stock options valued at $190 million, making him one of the highest-paid entertainment executives in the world. Clint Eastwood's 'Juror #2': Everything We Know About the Icon's Final Film Contact Tucker Carlson The company will have laid off thousands of people this year by the middle of this month. Verified Celebrity Contact Information for Fans, Businesses & Nonprofits. Special District Judge. Country Music Stars Write to Jack Dickey at jack.dickey@time.com. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Angel, Fund of Funds, Venture Capital), Number of Investments the Individual has participated in, Number of Investments the Individual has partnered in, Total number of current Jobs the person has, Total number of current Advisors and Board roles the person has, Total number of events the individual appeared in, Number of news articles that reference the Person. His other mission was to supervise the creation of more attractive programming to compete against new rivals. Following a massive merger, it's a new day at Warner Bros. He told me, Every decision we make, well own it. The proposed combined company, to be called Warner Bros. (Wuz instead of was; tha instead of the.) He has beyond lived up to what he said hed do as our partner, she says. Talk Show Hosts please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Contact Oprah Winfrey Discovery Inc., one of the largest media companies in the world, he told friends in Hollywood that he would hire the best people he could. [45] His daughter Ali Zaslav is a congressional producer with CNN. [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. All rights reserved. WGA Tells Members to Get Ready to Picket If a Deal Isnt Reached, CinemaCon Takeaways: Ryan Goslings Barbie Ken-ergy, Wicked Wows and The Flash Frenzy, Box Office Milestone: Super Mario Bros. Movie Hits $1B Globally, CinemaCon Surprise: Leonardo DiCaprio Shows Up for Martin Scorsese Honor, Box Office Milestone: 'Super Mario Bros. Movie' Hits $1B Globally, 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,' 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' Get China Release Dates, WarnerMedia chief Jason Kilar had infuriated talent, Wes Anderson Directing Star Wars? Please. A lot of those main street theaters havent opened, he said. The Hollywood Reporter is a part of Penske Media Corporation. LGBTQ+ Icons Currently, J.J. Abrams is still attached to direct one project in David Zaslav and James Gunn's upcoming DCU. We have to rally right now. Cable was regarded as trash back then. The company stationed its small cable operations over the river in Fort Lee, N.J., to avoid the long shadow of Rockefeller Centers legacy (and the unions). The Honorable John David Luton . : Conserving Acres for Tigers, to help double the global wild tiger population by 2022. The History Channel grew by ditching sepia-toned war specials for male-focused reality TV. In his contract extension, Zaslav also received stock options valued at $190 million. He does the same for his domestic employees when the clock strikes social acceptability an hour later. You dont walk away from that. OWN finally turned profitable in 2013, thanks in part to popular scripted programming from Tyler Perry and a carriage agreement with Comcast, which called for the large distributor to pay a meaningful fee for OWN. For Zaslav, these hours are stolen time, when he thinks better and thinks bigger. Viewer choice will rule the day. Graydon Carter, hes one of the great curators of our culture. As the CEO of Discovery, Zaslav played a key role in negotiating the deal with the Gaines and bringing them into the Discovery family of networks. Zaslav also oversaw NBCUniversal's interests in A&E, The History Channel, The Biography Channel, National Geographic International, the Sundance Channel and TiVo. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital For exhibitors, it meant the company was putting streaming ahead of theatrical at a precarious time for the box office recovery. All Rights Reserved. Under his leadership, Discovery networks have hit numerous milestones, with TLC breaking all cable viewing trends and recording its most-watched year ever in primetime for 2020. David D Zaslav. David Zaslav - President & Chief Executive Officer, Warner Bros - Winmo Europe, Menlo Park, China), Where the person is located (e.g. Zaslav is proudest of Discoverys international success. In 2008, Zaslav met with Winfrey to discuss possibly launching a joint venture between Discovery Communications and Harpo Productions (Winfreys production company) to create a new cable network. Call David Zaslav at 800-200-7477 (Warner Bros. Following Trumps election to the presidency in 2016, Zaslav joined several other media executives in a meeting with Trump to discuss his policies and plans for the industry. We have 16 movies now and we want to do more than 20. All signs point to continued growth for over-the-top television, whereby networks deliver their content directly to consumers, so named because it bypasses a cable companys involvement. A.I. Schleiff says, I said, This is the most popular genre in television history from Perry Mason forward, and theres not one network dedicated to doing it 24/7, year-round? Walking down Central Park West, with the sun still yet to rise, Zaslav recalls a party at Jack Welchs Trump Tower penthouse many years ago, before Oprah and Spielberg and his own glitzy parties. While Zaslav has always been an early riser, his broody laps have taken on new value in a choppy present for the video business. He took a 40% pay cut to work on the launch of CNBC. Its a funny thing about Zaslav: despite working in a business full of gossip-column backbiting and internecine squabbling, he has won over many of his competitors. America met Honey Boo Boo. Fitness Experts Lived In New York NY. She and Zaslav had just finished a rough presentation to the press, days after Winfrey had complained on television about how difficult the network-launching process was. Contact Paris Hilton He is the first conglomerate chief to speak at CinemaCon in modern times. Perrette will also guide direct-to-consumer and gaming, with president of Warner Bros. Games David Haddad reporting directly to him. While programming isnt his fortehe has cycled through network presidents, particularly at TLCbranding is. Zaslav has said the Discovery Channel is Vladimir Putins favorite networkalthough now that the Kremlin has started pushing foreign pay-TV programmers off the air, he can no longer be so sure. Discovery based in New York City, New York. Making matters worse, Discoverys two largest cable negotiating-table counterpartsTime Warner and Comcastplan to merge, threatening to squeeze the midsize players market power in advance of the expiration of its carriage agreement with Comcast this month. Zaslav has received multiple awards for his contributions to the media industry as well as his philanthropic work, including the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award, the UJA-Federation of New Yorks Steven J. Ross Humanitarian Award, Syracuse Universitys S.I. Contact Julia Roberts Discovery chair-CEO David Zaslav at CinemaCon 2023. Discovery), LinkedIn (CNN | Discovery Channel | HBO Max | Warner Bros. Includes Address (3) Phone (3) See Results. Since arriving at Discovery in 2007, Zaslavs followed this focus to unprecedented ratings and prominence for TLC and ID, a conspicuous and eventually successful partnership with Oprah Winfrey, a quintupling (before a recent pullback) of the companys market capitalization, and a pay package that hit at least $106 million for 2014, big even in an industry known for outsize paychecks. He sends her articles he reads and enjoysNoam Chomsky on the roots of American racism, Stephen Fry on God, Malcolm Gladwell on character traits that make you disruptivesubject line: Have u seen this? And Winfrey admires the man himself.