He has stayed relatively silent for the past nine months, but now it seems CNN’s former leader Jeff Zucker is ready to get back to work.
According to a report from 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.
The report states that Zucker would lead a $1 billion sports investment fund for RedBird, which has its tentacles in various entertainment and sporting properties.
The private equity firm has a stake in Skydance Media; it recently acquired the Italian soccer club AC Milan; it is a lead investor in the soon-to-be-relaunched XFL and is part owner of the parent company of the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Liverpool FC.
Zucker and sports go hand in hand. In addition to running CNN, Zucker was previously chairman of WarnerMedia’s sports division, where he was instrumental in bringing the NHL to Turner Sports and securing long-term rights to Major League Baseball, the NBA, and the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
He was also heavily involved with sports when he was the president and CEO of NBCUniversal, making sure that NBC Sports would be the long-term home of the Olympics.
Zucker began his media career in 1986 as a researcher for NBC Sports, working closely with Bob Costas, and was involved with the network’s coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.