Chris Licht Named Chairman and CEO of Discovery’s CNN Global

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorCAA has signed Peter Alexander, the co-chief White House correspondent for NBC News, and will represent him in his dealings with media and other potential employers.Alexander is also co-anchor of the weekend broadcast of “Today,” which he joined in October of 2018. He and Kristen Welker, who is also NBC News’ co-chief White House correspondent, have led “Today” on weekends since January of 2020, anchoring the program from Washington, D.C.Alexander has been with NBC News since 2004 and has covered events around the world as well as in the nation’s capital.

Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel, who has long espoused the benefits of streaming’s boom times, said he’s “not nervous” about Warner Bros Discovery possibly pumping the brakes as it looks to take on Netflix and Disney.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorChris Cuomo wants CNN parent WarnerMedia to keep paying him even though he no longer works there.The former CNN primetime anchor alleged in an arbitration filing Wednesday that his career has suffered damages in excess of $125 million, and suggested CNN had allowed several of his one-time colleagues to violate standards and practices in a bid to keep viewership. The anchor also said his firing by CNN late last year cost him nearly $15 million in salary that he would have earned if he had served out his last contract.In the filing, Cuomo’s attorneys argued that CNN favorites like Don Lemon and Jake Tapper, as well as analyst Jeffrey Toobin, had potentially violated the news outlet’s practices, but were not punished for doing so.  “As long as CNN’s ratings would not be hurt, [former CNN Worldwide President Jeff] Zucker and [former CNN Chief Marketing Officer Allison] Gollust were more than willing to overlook major transgressions by CNN personalities,” Cuomo’s filing alleges, “or even engage in blatant misconduct themselves.” CNN declined to comment.Cuomo and CNN parted ways last year after the anchor was caught up in the sexual-harassment scandal that engulfed his brother, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo.

EXCLUSIVE: After months of legal anticipation after his December 2021 firing by Jeff Zucker, Chris Cuomo has just launched the official opening salvo in what looks to be protracted battle with CNN for not only $125 million in cash, but his character and family drama as well.

Discovery and AT&T have determined the 13 members of the board of directors for Warner Bros Discovery, the new company that will be created via a pending $43 billion merger.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSamuel Di Piazza Jr. will serve as the chairman of Warner Bros.

Sandra Bullock appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Monday, March 14 and revealed just how up close and personal her and Channing Tatum got while filming The Lost City. “He’s stupid naked,” Sandra, 57, said about Channing, 41, when promoting the adventurous rom-com. It follows cover model Alan Caprison (Channing) attempting a heroic rescue of Loretta Sage (Sandra), a best-selling romance novelist who was kidnapped by billionaire criminal Fairfax (Daniel Radcliffe) on her book tour.

Sandra Bullock got up, close and personal with Channing Tatum while filming “The Lost City”.

Warner Bros Discovery, the company created by merging Discovery Inc. and WarnerMedia, and signed a new employment agreement through the end of 2027.

Discovery CEO David Zaslav’s total pay package came to more than $246 million for 2021 as the company prepares to close its merger with WarnerMedia.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterDiscovery investors voted in approval of the company’s $43 billion acquisition of WarnerMedia from AT&T to create Warner Bros. Discovery during a special meeting of stockholders Friday, marking one of the final formal steps before the transaction can close.The deal, a spinoff of WarnerMedia from AT&T, is expected to be completed early in Q2, with insiders telling Variety the estimated date is between April 11-28. The merger has already received approval from the U.S.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorCAA has signed Katty Kay, the popular author and BBC correspondent and author, and will serve as her representative for many of her ventures.The announcement comes just days after Kay rejoined the BBC after leaving last May to join Ozy Media, an ill-fated venture alleged in November to have committed securities fraud. Kay left BBC in a bid to broaden her horizons in digital and audio media, but left Ozy soon after it came under scrutiny.

Discovery shareholders are set to OK the $43 billion merger with WarnerMedia on Friday, the last big step before AT&T completes the spinoff. Ahead of the deal’s expected close next month, a who’s-in/who’s-out parlor game is gaining intensity as CEO David Zaslav finalizes the leadership team.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Stacia Philips Deshishku, an ABC News veteran who has supervised audio content and was a former deputy Washington Bureau chief for the Disney-backed news outlet, has been named executive editor and senior vice president position. She reports to Kim Godwin, president of ABC News.Philips Deshishku will essentially work as the second-in-command of ABC News editorial efforts, working closely with senior producers at “Good Morning America,” “World News Tonight,” “The View,” “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” “20/20,” “Tamron Hall” and “Nightline,” as well as ABC News’ booking unit.Prior to joining ABC,  the executive managed newsgathering around  some of the biggest domestic and international stories while serving as CNN’s director of coverage.

The Late Show host Stephen Colbert was sure that Chris Licht was the right person for the job of showrunner of his CBS late-night show when the pair met over a drink six years ago.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorIf it wasn’t for Chris Licht, you might not see Gayle King on TV every weekday morning.King wasn’t the typical host of a national morning-news show. She had worked for nearly two decades at a Hartford TV station before trying her hand at daytime TV.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe showrunner is leaving, but the show must go on.Staffers at CBS’ “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” aren’t sure who the next top producer will be at the program, according to three people familiar with the matter, with top producers ready to take their time to examine the needs of the show after the departure of Chris Licht, who has been executive producer of the late-night mainstay since 2016. Licht’s decision to take a new role as the CEO of CNN once Discovery closes its acquisition of WarnerMedia leaked this weekend, well before the executive was able to formally inform George Cheeks, CEO of Paramount Global’s CBS operations, or Shari Redstone, chairman of the company, according to one of these people.

NEW YORK -- Chris Licht, most recently Stephen Colbert's top producer at CBS, was appointed Monday as the new head of CNN, where he's expected to take over in May.Licht's expected appointment to replace Jeff Zucker as chief of CNN was widely reported over the weekend. Before moving into late-night TV, Licht was the chief executive behind the “CBS This Morning" news program and “Morning Joe” on MSNBC.The appointment was made by David Zaslav, Discovery CEO, who is expected to take over the merged company when Discovery's acquisition of CNN parent WarnerMedia is approved this spring.Zaslav called Licht a “dynamic and creative producer, an engaging and thoughtful journalist, and a true news person.”He said Licht is “a highly principled individual who is trusted, hard-working and makes every organization stronger, more innovative and more cohesive.”Zucker was forced out earlier this month, after admitting that he had violated corporate rules by not revealing his romantic relationship with a CNN marketing executive, Allison Gollust.

Discovery made the official announcement on Monday that Chris Licht, currently executive producer of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, will lead CNN after the completion of the Discovery-WarnerMedia merger.