Political Jeopardy! Hacked Sony Email Reveals CNN Wants To Replace News With Game Shows
Dec. 15 2014, Published 6:35 p.m. ET
Answer: A cable news channel seeking a game show. Question: What is CNN?
CNN chief Jeff Zucker wants to add game shows to his channel’s programming, according to a new leaked Sony email.
Zucker, who headed NBC before joining CNN, approached Sony television executives in late October to propose the company produce a political version of their long-running game show Jeopardy, according to an email sent to Sony Pictures Television President Steve Mosko on November 6, 2014.
“Steve I met with Zucker this week and he asked if we would consider doing political jeopardy show for cnn. I'm guessing it's a non starter but wanted to ask you how to respond to him,” read the e-mail from John Weiser, the president of Sony Pictures Television Distribution.
There was no indication in other emails of how the talks between CNN and Sony are progressing.
Several CNN anchors have competed on Alex Trebek’s show in the past, including Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper.
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Zucker has been reshaping the network to reverse lagging ratings, adding documentaries and series produced by outside companies in the almost two years since he was hired to run the company.
The revealing e-mail exchange is from a massive dump of data hacked from Sony’s computer system. A group identifying itself as the Guardians of Peace has posted the files online, including the email caches of the company’s top executives.
Sony Pictures co-chair Amy Pascal has suffered the greatest embarrassment with the publication of emails that included racially offensive passages.