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Why former CNN president Jeff Zucker is gung-ho about artificial intelligence
MUMBAI: Jeff Zucker is not afraid of the machines. While Guillermo del Toro tells AI to bugger off and creatives across Hollywood quake at the prospect of silicon scriptwriters, the RedBird IMI chief executive is rolling out the welcome mat for artificial intelligence.
“We actually think AI is an opportunity,” Zucker told the audience at Content London on Wednesday, his enthusiasm barely contained. Sure, the algorithms won’t capture the backstabbing brilliance of Celebrity Traitors or the raw emotion of Hamnet, he conceded. But slash production costs? Absolutely. “We think it’ll bring down the production costs tremendously.”
The former CNN president and NBCUniversal chief executive was equally bullish about AI’s potential in newsrooms. It won’t be meeting Deep Throat in underground car parks or breaking Watergate-style scoops for Front Office Sports, mind you. But as a tool? “It’s a great opportunity to utilise as well.”
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This puts Zucker firmly on one side of Hollywood’s great AI schism. Just days earlier, del Toro had accepted his Gotham Awards tribute with a rather more colourful take: “Fuck AI,” the Frankenstein director declared, praising his film as “wilfully made by humans, for humans.”
When asked to predict the entertainment landscape in 2030, Zucker refused to play fortune teller. “Anybody that pretends to tell you today what the world is going to look like in 2030 is a fool,” he said bluntly. The industry will transform twice over before then, he reckons—as much change in five years as in the past 20.
Still, some constants remain. “People are going to want professionally produced content, and they’re going to want creator-produced content,” Zucker insisted. “And I think all of that will be helped by AI and I think all of that will be helped by human beings.”
Beyond the AI evangelism, the media titan outlined RedBird IMI’s strategy: quality intellectual property, live events, and sports. “Everybody wants to be a team owner,” he noted, but the real money lies in the “adjacencies”—production, sports-adjacent programming, things that “can’t be disintermediated that easily.”
On the news business, Zucker struck a grimmer tone. “News is a difficult investment,” he admitted. The business model is “troubled or under assault,” journalism faces relentless attacks, yet “there has never been a more important time for news.” His solution? Forget being a generalist. Go deep, go niche, give people “an edge.”
RedBird IMI, launched in late 2022 with a $1 billion war chest from RedBird Capital and Abu Dhabi’s IMI, has already splashed $1.45 billion on All3Media and taken stakes in Media Res. More consolidation is coming, Zucker predicted, though he coyly sidestepped questions about the Warner Bros Discovery bidding war.
As for his new gig compared to the frantic pace of running CNN? “I have a life,” he said. Though he admitted missing the thick of the action. One can’t have everything—not even with AI’s help.
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Piyush Thakur steps down as Inshorts’ chief revenue officer
Former vice president and cro says exit marks a new chapter after close to a decade of building revenue and partnerships at Inshorts Group.
NOIDA: Piyush Thakur has stepped away from Inshorts Group after nearly 10 years with the company, marking the end of a long tenure that culminated in his role as chief revenue officer.
In a farewell note, Thakur said he was “turning a new page” after almost a decade at Inshorts, calling it one of the hardest professional decisions he has made. He added that his exit was not driven by uncertainty about the future, but by reflection on a long association with the company.
Thakur joined Inshorts in October 2016 as vice president and spent around seven years in the role before being elevated to chief revenue officer in April 2024, a position he held until April 2026.
He said his tenure was defined by “thousands of mornings, late nights, product debates and breakthrough moments”, as the company evolved into a large-scale digital news platform used by millions.
In his note, Thakur emphasised that Inshorts’ growth was a collective effort across teams, adding that engineers, designers, sales teams and customer support staff all contributed to building the platform. He said the company’s success was not the result of individuals but of “everyone who stayed, passed through, and left their mark”.
Before Inshorts, Thakur worked across several digital media and business development roles. At ESPN, he served as senior regional manager from October 2015 to October 2016, focusing on growth initiatives, strategic opportunities and video distribution.
At Times Internet, he worked for nearly three years, including as head of business development from April 2015 to September 2015 and chief manager from January 2013 to March 2015. His responsibilities included monetisation of mobile platforms, managing media and developer partnerships, and driving revenue across digital properties such as The Times of India and The Economic Times.
Earlier, he worked at Brandmovers as head of business development from June 2012 to June 2013, handling digital, mobile and social media marketing solutions, client development and strategic consulting. During this period, he also worked on advertising revenue, brand strategy and CRM-based solutions.
At Inshorts, Thakur’s role focused on revenue strategy, mobile and media partnerships, and growth initiatives across platforms. His profile highlights experience in mobile product management, digital business models, partner ecosystems and revenue expansion in high-growth environments.
