Ari Emanuel, chief executive officer of Endeavor Group Holdings Inc., confirmed an earlier Bloomberg News report that his company is interested buying a stake in the PGA Tour.
“We put in a bid,” Emanuel said. “It’s one of the great sports. I love it. You know, I think we could add to it what we’ve added to all of our sports.”
Emanuel, who spoke Wednesday at the opening of the inaugural Bloomberg Screentime conference in Los Angeles, also commented on the recent hostilities in the Middle East. The executive, whose family has a long history in the region, said the attack by Hamas fighters into Israel exposed flaws in the leadership of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, including his interaction with the military and appointments in homeland security.
“This past weekend was one of the worst pogroms in history, not including the Holocaust,” Emanuel said. “I just think it’s time that we get rid of this man.”
The Screentime event covers the collision of Hollywood and Silicon Valley. It features leaders in media, sports and technology. Thursday’s lineup of speakers includes Netflix Inc. co-CEO Ted Sarandos, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, tennis great Maria Sharapova and reality TV star Kris Jenner.
Considered one of the top talent agents in Hollywood, Emanuel co-founded the Endeavor agency in 1995, merging it later with one of the oldest names in the business, William Morris.
Endeavor has since expanded into events and sports ownership, acquiring the mixed martial arts league Ultimate Fighting Championship in a 2016 deal valued at $4 billion. Last month, Emanuel completed a merger of that business with World Wrestling Entertainment, creating a giant in the world of combat sports called TKO Group Holdings Inc.
Emanuel called for striking screen actors and Hollywood studios to come to the table to end the three-month long dispute that’s put the film and TV industry on hold.
“I don’t think they want us agents involved,” said Emanuel, who added his company recently signed deals for Tyler Perry and producer David Ellison at Netflix. “When you’re in negotiation, get half the loaf and move along.”
Emanuel said he was impressed by the turnaround effort being led by Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. CEO David Zaslav, and thought Walt Disney Co.’s Bob Iger would also be successful. He was critical of Paramount Global, the Redstone-family controlled parent of CBS, MTV and other channels.
“I think Zaz has figured it out,” Emanuel said. “He went through that tough year where he was getting killed. Bob’s going through it now. He’s a very good executive. He’ll figure it out. I would not put my money on Paramount.”
He was equally critical of Fox Corp., controlled by the Murdochs. “I think there’s gonna be rough times at Fox. Just because the demographic is getting older and you know, you got family issues.”
Emanuel also had strong words for rival Creative Artists Agency, which has been sued by a former client who said the company didn’t do enough to stop producer Harvey Weinstein and his sexual harassment. Emanuel said leadership at CAA, Bryan Lourd and Kevin Huvane, needed to step aside and permit a thorough outside investigation. CAA has called the claims “completely without merit.”
(Updates with comments on CAA, actors’ strike and media giants.)
