Latest news with #Licht
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CNN Chief Operating Officer Heads Back to Warner Bros. Discovery
After a two-year stint managing CNN's business during a leadership and strategy transition, David Leavy is heading back to his longtime home at parent company Warner Bros. Discovery. The executive had joined as chief operating officer of the cable news network during the short-lived Chris Licht-led era then stepped in to co-lead the brand days later after Licht was fired in June 2023. More from The Hollywood Reporter C-SPAN's Next Big Bet Is a "Radically Different" Sort of Cable News Show: 'CeaseFire' CNN to Air Live Broadcast of George Clooney's 'Good Night and Good Luck' in Broadway First CNN Sending Eva Longoria to France as 'Searching For' Franchise Expands (Exclusive) 'David arrived at CNN in tumultuous times and did a brilliant job stabilizing the company at a difficult moment,' read a note from CNN president Mark Thompson to staff on Wednesday. 'During the transition he led CNN jointly with Amy Entelis, Virginia Moseley and Eric Sherling and played a central part helping me into my role as chairman and CEO before, as COO, leading multiple organizations and teams across revenue, promotion, operations and data.' Leavy, who had spent two decades at Discovery prior to parachuting in to CNN during a moment of uncertainty, will return to the Warners corporate fold in an unspecified role. 'David will spend the next month or so ensuring a smooth transition, which should also give everyone who's worked with him a chance to say thank you for his major contribution during his tour of duty here,' Thompson wrote. At the time of his appointment two years ago, CNN was in the middle of an overhaul executed by Licht that involved significantly reworking the channel's programming to combat declining ratings and multiple on-air talent shuffles. Licht, who joined the brand in 2022 after time as a producer at Morning Joe, CBS This Morning, and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, had his tenure cut short after Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav pulled the plug. ('I take full responsibility,' Zaslav said at the time.) Leavy was then tasked with ensuring a steady transition to the next leadership era at CNN, which kicked off months later when former BBC and New York Times executive Mark Thompson was named its new chief. Now just shy of two years at CNN, Thompson is executing a digital pivot that includes pushing for online subscribers, a strategy that proved successful for the Times as the paper amassed 11.7 million paying subs. That includes CNN launching a new standalone streaming service (apart from the pay TV bundle), with pricing to-be-determined, this fall. Thompson noted a slew of org chart reporting changes as Leavy returns to Warners. 'Following his departure, Phil Nelson's international commercial and revenue teams and Emily Kuhn's communications organization will report into me, as will Sam Felix in her role as overall head of partnerships. Paul Crum's Newsource groups will report into Phil. I will continue to work closely and directly with Karen Bronzo and her creative marketing organization. John Davies' Studio and Tech Ops will report into Eric Sherling's programming team,' the CNN chief wrote. Thompson added, 'Jamie Benedict's strategy team and Nick Cavaliere's research group will now all report to Adam Cohn, our CFO, and Christine Yi will also now report into Adam's team. John Courtney's Image + Sound teams will report into Virginia Moseley's Global News organization, and Stacey Wolf's business affairs team will move under Amy Entelis' leadership. Anne Gordon, David's longtime trusted right hand, will stay with him and also transition to WBD.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter How the Warner Brothers Got Their Film Business Started Meet the World Builders: Hollywood's Top Physical Production Executives of 2023 Men in Blazers, Hollywood's Favorite Soccer Podcast, Aims for a Global Empire Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
USA Today
24-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
What surprise moves could Jason Licht pull off before training camp?
What surprise moves could Jason Licht pull off before training camp? The offseason has already been productive for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but GM Jason Licht might not be done with training camp creeping closer. Licht is known for his late-summer fireworks. The smoke signals are already there this year: a franchise cornerstone extended, a potential blockbuster trade in the works, and a splash signing on defense. Mike Evans: Locked In for Life Let's start with the feel-good news. Mike Evans is the greatest player in Bucs history and one of the most consistent receivers the league has ever seen. Licht could make it official this spring, locking Evans in with a multi-year deal that will likely keep him in pewter and red until he retires, as he is set to be a free agent at the end of this season and is playing some of his best football. It's more than a football mov,e it's a legacy move. The team sends a message: Loyalty matters, and the Bucs still believe they can win with No. 13 leading the charge. Trey Hendrickson Trade Heating Up? Now here's where it gets spicy: Trey Hendrickson. The Bengals' edge rusher is reportedly unhappy with his contract situation, and Cincinnati might be open to moving him before camp. Hendrickson would be a massive get for Tampa Bay, adding a proven pass-rushing threat opposite Yaya Diaby and taking pressure off Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey inside. Licht has pulled off surprise trades before (Shaq Mason, Rob Gronkowski, etc.), so don't rule out a bold move if the price is right. Justin Simmons Signing: Veteran Leadership in the Secondary As if the Bucs' defense wasn't already loaded with potential, Licht could bolster the secondary even further by signing Pro Bowl safety Justin Simmons. Recently in Atlanta, Simmons still has plenty of juice left and could thrive in Todd Bowles' aggressive, versatile system. With Antoine Winfield Jr. locked in as one of the league's top safeties, pairing him with a ballhawk like Simmons would give the Bucs arguably the best safety tandem in football. This move wouldn't just improve the defense, it would raise the football IQ of the entire bac
USA Today
24-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
3 Bold predictions for the Bucs offense during the 2025 season
3 Bold predictions for the Bucs offense during the 2025 season The offseason has already been productive for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but GM Jason Licht might not be done with training camp creeping closer. Licht is known for his late-summer fireworks. The smoke signals are already there this year: a franchise cornerstone extended, a potential blockbuster trade in the works, and a splash signing on defense. Mike Evans: Locked In for Life Let's start with the feel-good news. Mike Evans is the greatest player in Bucs history and one of the most consistent receivers the league has ever seen. Licht could make it official this spring, locking Evans in with a multi-year deal that will likely keep him in pewter and red until he retires, as he is set to be a free agent at the end of this season and is playing some of his best football. It's more than a football mov,e it's a legacy move. The team sends a message: Loyalty matters, and the Bucs still believe they can win with No. 13 leading the charge. Trey Hendrickson Trade Heating Up? Now here's where it gets spicy: Trey Hendrickson. The Bengals' edge rusher is reportedly unhappy with his contract situation, and Cincinnati might be open to moving him before camp. Hendrickson would be a massive get for Tampa Bay, adding a proven pass-rushing threat opposite Yaya Diaby and taking pressure off Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey inside. Licht has pulled off surprise trades before (Shaq Mason, Rob Gronkowski, etc.), so don't rule out a bold move if the price is right. Justin Simmons Signing: Veteran Leadership in the Secondary As if the Bucs' defense wasn't already loaded with potential, Licht could bolster the secondary even further by signing Pro Bowl safety Justin Simmons. Recently in Atlanta, Simmons still has plenty of juice left and could thrive in Todd Bowles' aggressive, versatile system. With Antoine Winfield Jr. locked in as one of the league's top safeties, pairing him with a ballhawk like Simmons would give the Bucs arguably the best safety tandem in football. This move wouldn't just improve the defense, it would raise the football IQ of the entire back end of the defense.
NBC Sports
08-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Jason Licht will, in certain cases, draft "d-bags and a—holes"
Various things can get a player removed from a team's draft board. In Tampa Bay, there's one category of prospect that isn't automatically excluded. The 'd-bags and assholes.' Via Buccaneers G.M. Jason Licht recently explained his willingness to tolerate certain antisocial personality traits during an appearance on The JP Peterson Show. 'We have a long process of defining who we're taking off [the draft board] and who we're not,' Licht said. 'Now just because a guy, maybe people don't like him, or he's a d-bag or an asshole, we're not just going to automatically take them off. It's got to affect their football character and it's got to affect the team. There's a lot of people that fit that description that are very good football players and maybe it works in their favor.' Indeed it can. Sometimes, it takes a d-bag and/or an asshole to embrace the physicality of playing football aggressively and effectively. "[T]here's a difference between a bad guy and an immature person, and we'll take immature and help them develop,' Licht said. 'But, you know, we just don't want people that are going to affect the locker room in a negative way that affects the performance of others and the team.' As often happens, objectively undesirable qualities can take a back seat to undeniable talent. 'We'll take a guy that's a little bit of a d-bag or an asshole if they can get to the quarterback, for sure,' Licht said. He didn't name names, unfortunately. But that makes sense. A d-bag and/or an asshole wouldn't take kindly to being publicly labeled a d-bag and/or an asshole.
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bucs Reveal Injury Update on Top Draft Pick
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and general manager Jason Licht had a clear focus on defense in this year's NFL Draft in Green Bay, Wisconsin. After the surprising first-round selection of Ohio State wideout Emeka Egbuka, Licht drafted Notre Dame cornerback Benjamin Morrison with the No. 53 overall pick. Advertisement Some analysts questioned the selection because of Morrison's notable injury history. But Licht updated Morrison's most recent hip surgery in October during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. "He probably could practice right now." said Licht. "We're going to see how it goes when he comes in here. We're going to take it easy. We're going to make sure we're careful with him. He's going to be ready for Training Camp, everybody feels like." Morrison might be one of the most talented defensive players that was available in the draft. His highest completion percentage given up in college was 38.5 percent. But injuries have been a concern. In addition to the hip surgery last October, he also had a hip surgery in high school and had arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder last year. Advertisement But Licht and his staff did their homework before making the pick. "At the end of the day, we're not going to take a player that our medical team felt uncomfortable with. He ended up working out, the week before the draft," Licht said. "We had one of our top scouts there at it, we got the video of it right away, we felt he looked really, really good." Related: Bucs Trade For All-Pro CB Pushed by Related: Shedeur Gifted Advice from Bucs Super Bowl Hero
