Jeff Zucker Ponders His Future At CNN

55-year-old Jeff Zucker's contract at CNN expires next year and he hasn’t committed to extending his deal in meetings with WarnerMedia brass and communications with CNN employees, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Asked about his future in a town hall video chat on Wednesday, Zucker said he loves his job, but added, “The industry is changing, our company is changing, so I have a lot to think about,” according to a recording of his remarks. He added, “I’ll do that at the right time.”

Zucker said he won’t make a decision on whether to stay at CNN until after the election.

If this election is Zucker’s last ride, WSJ reports he would leave CNN after transforming its role in the cable news landscape and becoming one of the most polarizing figures in media in the process. On his watch, the network, once accused of giving Donald Trump too much airtime during his first presidential run, has become a critic of the administration.

Jeff Zucker

CNN, like its rivals in cable news, has enjoyed a major ratings lift during the controversies of the Trump years, especially in election season. The network’s ratings have increased about threefold compared with where they were at the start of 2015, reflecting similar gains at Fox News and MSNBC. CNN has been second in the ratings for most of the year among viewers 25 to 54, the key news demographic for advertisers, but trails rival MSNBC in total viewers and is well behind ratings leader Fox News.

AT&T doesn’t break out CNN’s results separately. WSJ cites a person familiar with the matter as saying the division has generated more than $1 billion in annual profit in recent years. This year is proving more challenging. During the town hall meeting, Zucker said he expects CNN to miss its profit target by between $100 million and $120 million, as digital and international advertising sales suffer during the pandemic.

Some media and finance executives say CNN could be a spinoff target for private-equity investors or blank-check companies known as SPACs.

Though Zucker’s contract doesn’t end until well into 2021, he could leave before then; initial conversations about whether he’ll extend his employment have happened and are expected to deepen after the election, the people familiar with the situation said.