Zucker will also continue to lead CNN, along with overseeing Turner SportsGETTY IMAGES
With CNN President JEFF ZUCKER expected to take on oversight of Turner Sports as part of AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner, the consolidation at WarnerMedia is "likely to result in what senior executives are describing as a greater amount of streamlining between units and what some junior executives are calling massive layoffs," according to sources cited by Joe Flint of the WALL STREET JOURNAL (3/2). VARIETY's Brian Steinberg noted while Zucker would also "continue to lead CNN," the sports job is an "important one at AT&T." WarnerMedia’s Turner group "enjoys a very close relationship" with the NBA, "worked with WME/IMG to start an e-sports league, and shares broadcast rights" for the NCAA Tournament with CBS. Zucker has "long been a sports fan." He "tried to bring sports coverage to CNN early in his tenure there," hiring ESPN veteran RACHEL NICHOLS in '13 to lead CNN’s first sports-news program. But that program was "often pre-empted by breaking news." However, one "important caveat" is that Zucker has "no formal experience in sports management" (VARIETY.com, 3/1).
LEVY ON TURNER DEPARTURE: Outgoing Turner President DAVID LEVY said that he will "stick around to catch the final NCAA March Madness tournament of his tenure." AD AGE's Anthony Crupi noted he is "very likely to remain in the media space." The opportunities for an executive of Levy's caliber are "considerable, especially now that the likes of Apple and Amazon are looking to make a splash in the sports media business." Crupi: "Nothing's off the table." Levy "allows that he's long been an enthusiast of the burgeoning sports gambling space." Last month, he was "instrumental in nailing down a deal to establish a Bleacher Report studio inside the fabled Caesar's Palace sports book in Las Vegas." Levy said of his impending Turner departure, "I had a vision, and under the new regime there was really no way to achieve what I'd set out to do. I wanted to be the CEO of Turner and ultimately, that position no longer exists. ... I'm still going to watch the Thursday night NBA doubleheaders every week, and yet that's one of the things I'm going to really miss the most. Knowing I was such a big part of that and our 'Inside the NBA' show" (ADAGE.com, 3/1).
NEW AGE: CNN.com's Brian Lowry noted the "twin exits" of Levy and HBO Chair & CEO RICHARD PLEPLER "signals that AT&T had its own design for Time Warner, and that the company wants execs who will implement that strategy." Given the "pace of change in the business and uncertainty as entertainment companies brave the streaming waters, the assumption appears to be that institutional knowledge -- and just as importantly, the long-standing relationships that come with it -- isn't what it once was" (RELIABLE SOURCES, 3/1).
