Jeff Zucker Circling First Post-WarnerMedia Job Running $1B Sports Investment Fund For RedBird Capital

Jeff Zucker, who left WarnerMedia last February just before its merger with Discovery, is in discussions with RedBird Capital to lead a $1 billion sports investment fund backed by the private equity outfit.

The talks, first reported by The Ankler, were confirmed by a person familiar with the situation. Given the nature of negotiations, the source noted, the conversations may fall apart.

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Zucker has had significant sports experience on his resume, overseeing Turner Sports in addition to his CNN duties for the last half of his tenure and before that presiding over a number of successful Olympics telecasts, among other major sporting events. At Turner, he oversaw the company’s coverage of the NBA, NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and also led its acquisition of NHL rights in 2021.

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. Zucker’s role is reminiscent of an early announcement from Kevin Mayer after he left Disney in 2020 after a lengthy run.

Zucker’s tenure overseeing CNN and sports came to an end amid reports — acknowledged by Zucker — that he had been in a consensual relationship with former colleague Allison Gollust. While many in the CNN ranks had long known the pair had been romantically involved, CNN was also under major scrutiny due to former primetime host Chris Cuomo’s actions as an adviser to his brother, former NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo. As David Zaslav and his team took control of WBD, change was in the air in any event, and current CNN boss Chris Licht has overseen several cost-cutting moves as the company looks to trim costs.

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