07 Jul Hello, Chief Content Officer. Why the Title Is the New Go-To in Hollywood Executive Shake-Ups [The Hollywood Reporter]
BY ALEX WEPRIN
July 7, 2023 | It wasn’t all that long ago that being the CEO of a major media or entertainment company was the top of the heap. The moguls of the day, from Ted Turner and Sumner Redstone to Rupert Murdoch and Steve Ross, dominated the culture — and earned billions in the process.
But the CEO gig ain’t what it used to be. David Zaslav, the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, has become public executive enemy No. 1 for many industry workers amid the Writers Guild of America’s ongoing strike.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos is a close second, while Disney chief Bob Iger finds himself back in the CEO seat, but under much more challenging circumstances, all while trying to figure out who, if anyone, has what it takes to succeed him after his predecessor and successor Bob Chapek lasted only two and a half years.
At Apple and Amazon, entertainment is just one corporate tentacle out of many, a division that lives alongside smartphones and software platforms. No CEO necessary there.