Ex-CNN Boss Jeff Zucker Buys Front Office Sports

Former CNN boss Jeff Zucker has acquired newsletter/podcast startup Front Office Sports.

Zucker resigned from CNN in February, 2022, after revealing that he had a relationship with a senior network executive.

Front Office Sports (FOS) on Monday announced "a strategic investment" from Zucker's RedBird IMI. Axios first reported the acquisition.

RedBird IMI is a joint venture between RedBird Capital Partners and International Media Investments focused on building high-growth companies in media, entertainment, and sports.

Zucker will join the FOS board of directors as its co-chair, alongside Jason Stein, managing partner of SC Holdings, FOS' earliest investor.

The move marks Zucker's first acquisition since launching RedBird IMI, a $1 billion investment fund.

"The team at Front Office Sports has built an impressive platform for sports business journalism, and I'm excited to help it grow in the years ahead," Zucker said in a release announcing the deal.

"Audiences are more interested than ever in the business of sports, and this investment will allow Front Office Sports to create even more compelling news content that draws people in."

FOS touts itself as a multiplatform media brand built for the modern sports consumer, and says it reaches an influential and rapidly expanding audience of over 20 million people per month across newsletters, site, podcasts, and social channels.

The company offers Zucker "a brand and platform that he can use to develop and license new documentaries and video projects, with a source saying FOS will seek to hire new on-camera talent," Axios reported.

CEO Adam White launched FOS in 2014. Last year, the company raised roughly $5 million from Crain Communications at around a $25 million valuation.

"The business of sports has become ubiquitous in recent years, permeating across all corners of culture. It now commands mainstream attention and is part of even the most casual fan's daily content consumption," White said in the press release.

"The foundation of our company was built on a deep understanding and connection to this shift, and has long informed our editorial strategy and product development. As we enter this next stage of expansion, we are incredibly excited to partner with Jeff Zucker, one of the media industry's greatest minds."

FOS began selling paid subscriptions in 2021, though most of its products are free.

Axios reported that RedBird IMI last month said it would launch a new nonfiction content studio led by former Time president Ian Orefice.