Everyone’s been waiting to see where in the world Jeff Zucker would land in the wake of his CNN exit. The Ankler can now report that the executive, whose tenure at the news network ended in February under a cloud of controversy, is poised to head into an arena where he’s long been passionate: sports. (The Ankler)
Zucker, who resigned from CNN earlier this year as a result of not disclosing his romantic relationship with former CNN head of communications and marketing Allison Gollust, is in advanced talks to join private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners. (TVNewser)
Zucker would give added media industry depth to RedBird, as it increases its focus on professional sports investing. In addition to CNN, Zucker was in charge of WarnerMedia’s Turner Sports division. He also once led NBC’s Olympic Games coverage. (Axios)
RedBird, which is led by former Goldman Sachs exec Gerry Cardinale, has had ties with many figures in media. It is a stakeholder in Skydance as well as the XFL, which was bought out of bankruptcy by Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia. The company also teamed with Epic Games and Nike to make an investment in LeBron James’ SpringHill Media. (Deadline)