Discovery CEO Inherits Challenges From CNN

The dust on the CNN Chris Cuomo-Jeff Zucker embarrassing situation is far from settled, reports Charles Gasparino at The NY Post.

Cuomo wants his money and Zucker also knows stuff about Chris, if and when push comes to shove. If you like your media-business laundry dirty, get your popcorn ready; some of the biggest players in Big Media could have plenty of egg on their faces as this one plays out, writes Gasparino.

David Zaslov

Discovery Inc., and its very able chief, David Zaslav, meanwhile, are stuck with a mess being watched by Wall Street. The government has just approved the $43 billion spinout of AT&T’s WarnerMedia that includes CNN into a new company run by Zas and Discovery.

When the deal was announced in May of last year, it sounded like a good idea since CNN got significant ratings traction during the Trump administration as the loyal opposition to the volatile president. 

But with Trump out, CNN’s ratings crashed and are still sliding, a deep decline that has become even more perilous with Zucker gone and CNN’s mission uncertain. 

Zaslav, meanwhile, is said to be worried about CNN’s bottom line for obvious — and some not so obvious — reasons. Yes, there are those declining ratings. But before he was bounced, Zucker went on a hiring spree to support and expand CNN’s new streaming product, CNN+. Network insiders say Zas is looking to significantly scale back Zucker’s streaming vision to save money — something Discovery won’t deny to me.

And as Cuomo preps arbitration to recoup his $20 million contract, extract an apology from CNN and maybe more, expect the dirty laundry to keep coming. Zas’s share price will certainly feel the pain amid the stain on his brand.