Barry Diller

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Barry Diller
20th Century Fox (1984–1992)
  • Chairman and CEO, Paramount Pictures

    • (1974–1984)
    Spouse
    ​
    ​
    (m. 2001)​

    Barry Charles Diller (born February 2, 1942) is an American businessman. He is

    IAC and Expedia Group and founded the Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting. Diller was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame
    in 1994.

    Early life

    Diller was born on February 2, 1942 in San Francisco, California,[1] to Michael Diller and his wife Reva (née Addison).[2][3]

    Career

    Diller began his career through a family connection

    made-for-television movie through a regular series of 90-minute films produced exclusively for television.[6]

    Paramount

    Diller served for 10 years as the chairman and

    pay-television network.[8]

    Fox

    From October 1984 to April 1992, Diller held the positions of chairman and chief executive officer of

    20th Century Fox, where he launched the Fox network and greenlighted shows such as Married... with Children and The Simpsons.[9]

    QVC

    On February 24, 1992, Diller announced that he would leave Fox within a three month period, citing a desire to "own my own store."

    Viacom. Diller resigned from QVC in 1995.[12]

    HSN and USA Broadcasting

    In August 1995, Diller acquired the assets of

    Home Shopping Network (HSN), a former Silver King asset which split from the company in 1992, and that the two companies would merge.[14][15] In December 1996, Silver King Broadcasting acquired an 80% stake in HSN for $1.3 billion worth of stock, and afterwards changed its own name to 'HSN, Inc..[16] Through his purchase of HSN, Diller would also eventually acquire Universal's cable and domestic-television assets from the Bronfman family.[17]

    Due to Home Shopping getting more notoriety on the cable networks from his former dealings with the QVC Network, Diller sought to repurpose the broadcast stations into independent, locally run stations as part of a station group dubbed

    Gulf + Western also owned the Madison Square Garden Sports Corp., which helped create the USA Network with Koplovitz.[8][21] He was also the one who put together the 1981 USA Network ownership agreement between Paramount, Time Inc. and MCA which convinced Madison Square Garden management to not sell their interests in the network.[8]

    Diller's purchase of the USA Network was finalized in February 1998.

    WWF programming experienced a dramatic ratings turnaround, with WWF Raw dominating the ratings on cable television.[24] Under Diller's leadership, the USA Network also showed tolerance to the growing WWF angles which were breaking with traditional censorship and were considered controversial, with even his USA Network spokesman David Schwartz describing an incident where the wrestler Jacqueline exposed one of her breasts as “not worse than anything you see on broadcast television at that time of night, such as NYPD Blue.”[25] Shaun Assel and Mike Mooneyham's book Sex, Lies, and Headlocks: The Real Story of Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment stated that "the terrain shifted completely under everyone's feet" following Diller's purchase of the USA Network and also resulted in him and Universal TV executive Bonnie Hammer, who was regarded as the most sympathetic USA Network executive when came to relations with the WWF,[26] thwarting an attempt which Koplovitz and other USA Network executives, including network entertainment head Rod Perth, made to remove the WWF from the USA Network in May 1998.[26] Hammer, who has openly credited Diller as her mentor, would in later years serve on the board of directors at IAC/InterActiveCorp.[27]

    The purpose of the network was to have the flagship, WAMI, produce sports and news programming while testing locally produced general-interest programming for the other stations in the group. Due to the high costs of producing and acquiring talent for shows outside the typical areas of

    IAC/InterActiveCorp.[29]

    2000s

    Barry Diller at the Web 2.0 Conference 2005

    Diller was the Chairman of

    IAC/InterActiveCorp on December 2, 2010.[31]

    The new headquarters for the IAC/InterActiveCorp, the IAC Building was designed by Frank Gehry and opened in 2007 at 18th Street and the West Side Highway in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. The western half of the block is dedicated to the building, which stands several stories taller than the massive Chelsea Piers sporting complex just across the West Side Highway. The extra floors guarantee a panoramic Hudson River view from Diller's sixth-floor office.[citation needed]

    Diller has been on the board of Coca-Cola since 2002.

    In 2003, on the

    media consolidation. In the interview he referred to media ownership by a few big corporations as an oligarchy, saying the concentration strangles new ideas.[32]

    Diller was "the highest-paid executive [of fiscal year 2005]", according to a report by The New York Times on October 26, 2006, with total compensation in excess of $295 million (mostly from stock).[33]

    In October 2019, Diller had a $4.2 billion fortune in technology companies, after investing early on in companies such as Match.com and Vimeo.[34] In 2012, Diller became an investor in the streaming service company Aereo.[35] Aereo went out of business in June 2014 after the United States Supreme Court ruled that its method of streaming media content violated copyright laws.[35]

    Since 2013, Diller has co-produced more than ten Broadway shows in partnership with Scott Rudin, including To Kill A Mockingbird, West Side Story, Carousel, The Humans, Three Tall Woman, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus, and A Doll's House, Part 2.[36] IAC Films has also backed numerous films produced by Rudin, including Uncut Gems, Lady Bird, Eighth Grade, The Meyerowitz Stories, and Ex Machina.[37]

    In early 2020, Diller took over Expedia's day-to-day operations alongside the vice chairman Peter Kern, after the company's CFO stepped down in December 2019.[38] In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Expedia's shares plummeted along with those of other travel companies. Diller announced that Expedia is generating no revenue and would have to cut costs.[39] And he has been member of the advisory board of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation.

    "The Killer Dillers"

    Diller is responsible for what the media dubs "The Killer Dillers" – people whom Diller mentored and who later became major media and internet executives in their own right. Examples include

    ZMC, the chairman and CEO of video game company Take-Two Interactive), Don Simpson (who was President of Production at Paramount under Diller and Eisner before forming an independent production company initially based on the Paramount lot with Jerry Bruckheimer), Dara Khosrowshahi (CEO of Uber), Dawn Steel (a VP of Production for Paramount when Diller was Chair & CEO; she went on to become President of Columbia Pictures, one of the first women to run a major movie studio) and Garth Ancier (former president of BBC America).[40]

    Diller worked with

    IAC/InterActiveCorp.[citation needed
    ]

    Accusations of insider trading

    On March 9, 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported that Diller, David Geffen and his stepson, Alex Von Furstenberg were being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the United States Department of Justice for insider trading of options on Activision Blizzard just three days before Microsoft's announced acquisition. Diller denied the allegations and claimed "It was simply a lucky bet."[41]

    Personal life

    Diller with his wife Diane von Fürstenberg at the 2009 Metropolitan Opera premiere

    In 2001, Diller married fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg, mother of Prince Alexander von Fürstenberg and Princess Tatiana von Fürstenberg. Diller owns an estimated third of her eponymous fashion company.[42][43] He is a member of the Democratic Party and supporter of related political causes.[44] As of June 2020, Diller's estimated net worth was $4.2 billion.[45][1] He owns Eos, one of the largest private sailing yachts in the world.[46]

    Sexual orientation

    The media has speculated on Diller's sexual orientation. As reported in James B. Stewart's 2005 book DisneyWar, Michael Eisner sent a confidential letter to The Walt Disney Company board of directors in 1997 during its search for a successor to Bob Iger.[47]

    Pressed by the board to name a successor, Mr. Eisner cited the entertainment executive Barry Diller, but then wrote a confidential letter to the board saying that “the fact he is a homosexual should have no weight,” which, at the time, all but guaranteed Mr. Diller would never succeed him.

    — James B. Stewart, DisneyWar (2005)[48]

    Philanthropy

    In 2011, the Diller-von Fürstenberg Family Foundation announced a donation of $20 million to support the completion of the High Line park in Manhattan.[49] In 2012, Diller donated $30 million to the Hollywood Fund, which provides health and social care to retired individuals from the show-business world.[50]

    In 2015, Diller and his wife committed to donate $260 million toward

    Little Island, a public park and performance space on a reconstructed pier 55 in the Hudson River in New York City.[51] It is stated to be the largest donation to a public park in city history.[52][53] The park was completed on May 21, 2021.[54]

    Honors and recognition

    References

    1. ^ a b c "Who is Barry Diller?". Yahoo Finance. 2020-05-29. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
    2. ^ New York Magazine: "Blow Up the Box - After a career in which he firebombed the traditional television model from multiple angles, Barry Diller talks about his latest effort to torch the tube" By Vanessa Grigoriadis May 13, 2012
    3. ^ "Barry Diller Biography". filmreference.com. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
    4. ^ Reported on the American CBS network's 60 Minutes, re-broadcast June 10, 2007.
    5. ^ "Barry Diller: Infinite learner | Masters of Scale Podcast". WaitWhat. Archived from the original on 2018-03-21. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
    6. ISBN 978-0-595-35836-6
      . Retrieved October 10, 2010.
    7. ^ Bernard Weinraub (December 23, 1993). "THE PARAMOUNT DEAL; What Surprise? Friends Say Diller Always Defies Odds". The New York Times.
    8. ^ a b c d e Salmans, Sandra (August 28, 1983). "Barry Diller's Latest Starring Role". New York Times. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
    9. ^ Alan Citron and John Lippman (February 25, 1992). "Diller Stuns Hollywood, Quits Fox Inc". Los Angeles Times.
    10. ^ Masters, Kim (February 25, 1992). "Fox Chairman Barry Diller Resigns". Washington Post. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
    11. ^ Sims, Calvin (December 11, 1992). "COMPANY NEWS; Diller Acquires QVC Stake". New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
    12. ^ Mark Landler (May 20, 1996). "Barry Diller Used to Work Here?". The New York Times.
    13. ^ a b "Diller Is Cleared To Take Control of Silver King". New York Times. 1996-03-12. Archived from the original on 2015-01-12. Retrieved 2015-01-08.
    14. ^ "Silver King to buy HSN". UPI. August 26, 1996. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
    15. ^ Hofsmeister, Sallie (August 27, 1996). "Diller Makes 1.26". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
    16. ^ Martin Peers (December 19, 1996). "Silver King annexes HSN". Variety. Archived from the original on 2016-02-20. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
    17. ^ Bruck, Connie (May 3, 1998). "Bronfman's Big Deals". The New Yorker. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
    18. ^ "The Legend of WAMI-TV". ke4qpf.com.
    19. ^ a b Hofmeister, Sallie (April 10, 1998). "USA Networks CEO Kay Koplovitz Resigns". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
    20. ^ Quinones, Eric R. (October 20, 1997). "Barry Diller taking over USA Network and other Universal TV businesses". Associated Press. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
    21. ^ a b "Time to buy all or half of USA Network" (PDF). Broadcasting Magazine. August 31, 1981. p. 24. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
    22. ^ Fabrikant, Geraldine (February 15, 1998). "Barry Diller, Media Titan, Wants a Shot at the Small Time". New York Times. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
    23. ^ "USA Network founder quits". CNN Money. April 9, 1998. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
    24. ^ "Pro Wrestling a Darling of Teen-Age Boys and Cable TV". Bloomberg News. November 11, 1998. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
    25. ^ Alex Marvez, Scripps Howard News Service (September 18, 1998). "Mudity episode brings remorse from McMahon". South Coast Today. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
    26. ^
      ISBN 9780307758132
      . Retrieved April 15, 2022.
    27. ^ Lieberman, David (2014-09-15). "Bonnie Hammer Re-Teams With Mentor Barry Diller On IAC Board". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
    28. ^ "Vivendi seals USA deal". CNN Money. December 17, 2001. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
    29. ^ Snider, Mike. "Today's special value: QVC owner acquires HSN for $2.1 billion". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2021-04-15.
    30. ^ "Barry Diller: Learn to unlearn | Masters of Scale Podcast". WaitWhat. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
    31. ^ Amy Thomson (December 2, 2010). "Diller Exits IAC CEO Role as Malone Exchanges Stake". Bloomberg.com.
    32. ^ "Moyers on America". PBS.
    33. ISSN 0362-4331
      . Retrieved October 3, 2015.
    34. ^ Antoine Garal. "Who Needs Moonshots? How Former Hollywood Mogul Barry Diller Built A $4.2 Billion Tech Fortune Out Of Underdog Assets". Forbes. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
    35. ^ a b Luckerson, Victor (June 25, 2014). "Aereo Backer Barry Diller: 'It's Over Now'". Time. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
    36. ^ "Barry Diller – Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
    37. ^ "With IAC Films (Sorted by Popularity Ascending)". IMDb. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
    38. ^ Palmer, Annie (2020-02-14). "Media mogul Barry Diller blasts Expedia's corporate culture: 'It was all life and no work'". CNBC. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
    39. ^ Pound, Jesse (2020-04-16). "Billionaire Barry Diller says bail out everyone and 'worry about paying the bills later'". CNBC. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
    40. ISBN 978-0-471-29948-6
      . Retrieved 10 October 2010.
    41. ^ Mangan, Dan; Boorstin, Julia (2022-03-09). "Barry Diller denies insider trading on Microsoft, Activision deal amid DOJ and SEC investigations". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
    42. ^ "Barry Diller". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
    43. ^ "Diane von Furstenberg". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
    44. ^ Justin Menza (September 25, 2012). "Why I'm Voting for President Obama: Barry Diller". CNBC.
    45. ^ Forbes. "Profile: Barry Diller". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
    46. ^ "The Haves and the Have-Yachts". The New Yorker. 2022-07-15. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
    47. ^ Trotter, J.K. (22 April 2016). "Does the New York Times Have an Outing Policy Anymore?". Gawker. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
    48. ISBN 0-684-80993-1
      .
    49. ^ "Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation Awards $20 Million to Help Complete High Line Park". philanthropynewsdigest.org. 28 October 2015.
    50. ^ "Media Mogul Barry Diller Gives $30-Million to Hollywood Fund". philanthropy.com. June 6, 2015.
    51. ^ "Little Island". Hudson River Park. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
    52. ^ "Hudson River's $130million Floating Park". Business Insider. February 15, 2015.
    53. ^ "Diller-von Furstenberg Foundation: New York City Grants". insidephilanthropy.com. December 2, 2015. Archived from the original on April 6, 2019. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
    54. ISSN 0362-4331
      . Retrieved 2021-05-21.
    55. ^ "DGAs Honorary Life Member Award". Directors Guild of America.
    56. American Academy of Achievement
      .
    57. ^ "Honorees". Television Academy.
    58. ^ "Bloomberg Business". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on 2010-01-06.

    External links

    Business positions
    Preceded by
    unknown
    		 Vice President of ABC, Prime-Time Programming
    1973–1974     		Succeeded by
    unknown
    Preceded by
    		 Chairman & CEO of Paramount Pictures
    1974–1984     		Succeeded by
    Preceded by
    		 Chairman & CEO of
    20th Century Fox

    1984–1992     		Succeeded by
    Preceded by
    established
    		 President of FOX
    1986–1992     		Succeeded by
    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barry_Diller&oldid=1220073486"