RedBird IMI boss Jeff Zucker sees AI as a cost-saving ‘opportunity’

RedBird IMI boss Jeff Zucker appears to be embracing the AI ​​revolution.

“We actually think AI is an opportunity,” he told the audience at TV confab Content London on Wednesday. “We don’t think it will be able to capture the same drama as ‘Celebrity Traitors,’ or the human emotion that goes into ‘Hamnet,’ for example, but we think it will reduce production costs tremendously. So we think it’s an opportunity.”

“It’s not about meeting sources in an underground garage and breaking stories for Front Office Sports or any other journalistic medium,” Zucker continued, “but it’s also a great tool for news organizations. So I think AI wasn’t around two years ago, but it’s a great opportunity to leverage as well.”

Hollywood is still divided on AI, with some companies and individuals willing to give it a shot while others, especially creatives, are shocked at its infiltration of the screen ecosystem. Earlier this week, “Frankenstein” director Guillermo del Toro decried the new technology while accepting the Vanguard Tribute at the Gotham Awards. “I would like to tell the rest of our extraordinary cast and crew that the artistry of all of them shines in every frame of this film, which was intentionally made by people, for people,” he told the audience. “The designers, builders, makeup, wardrobe team, cinematographers, composers, editors, this tribute belongs to them all. I would like to express our gratitude and say: Fuck AI.”

During the Content London panel, Zucker, who was in conversation with media consultant Mary Ann Halford, was asked to predict what the future of the entertainment industry might look like in five years, which he declined to do. “I’m not trying to dodge your question, but I mean, I think anyone who pretends to tell you today what the world will look like in 2030 is a fool,” he told Halford bluntly.

“Because I think the world is going to change twice between now and then. At least the reality is that I think we’re going to see as much change in the next five years as we have in the last 20 years,” he continued. “Clearly, AI will play a big role in that. The creative economy will play a big role in that. And don’t count out the traditional places that are still producing great content, right?”

“I think the one thing that will forever be true is whether people are watching it on their phone or on their TV screen or on their iPad or whatever, they want professionally produced content, and they want creator-produced content. And I think that’s all going to be helped by AI and I think that’s all going to be helped by humans. And I think when I know exactly what’s going to take us from here to 2030, I have no idea, but I do think people will still consume content.”

The media titan also touched on RedBird IMI’s move into live events and sports, citing its sports business Front Office Sports and doc/events business EverWonder, which pivoted from purely creating factual content to events.

“I really think that life and sports are very important components of the coming years, and this just happens to combine both,” he said of EverWonder.

“Everyone’s always focused on owning teams and stuff like that, right? Because it’s sexy and exciting. Everybody wants to be a team owner and stuff like that. … But I actually think the real opportunity is being around teams,” Zucker added. “I think new competitions are definitely an area. But I think production for all of these things is an opportunity. I think sports-related programming is an opportunity. And that’s where we’ve been trying to go. But I really believe that over the next few years, sports and live production — and if you combine the two, great — are real opportunities, things that can’t be so easily separated. Live events that need to happen, sports games that need to be played, and I think that’s what we’re trying to capitalize on.”