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Barry Diller

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Barry Diller
Diller in 2009
Born
Barry Charles Diller

(1942-02-02) February 2, 1942 (age 82)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
EducationUniversity of California, Los Angeles (no degree)
OccupationMedia executive
Years active1964–present
Political partyDemocratic
Board member of
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2001)​

Barry Charles Diller (born February 2, 1942) is an American businessman. He is chairman and senior executive of 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] However, he was raised in Beverly Hills.[4] He is of Austrian-Jewish dissent.[4]

Career

Diller began his career through a family connection[5] in the mailroom of the William Morris Agency after dropping out of UCLA after three weeks. His proximity to the company's file room meant that he could spend free time reading through the archives and learning the entire history of the entertainment industry.[6] He was hired as an assistant by Elton Rule, then West Coast head of ABC,[1] who was promoted to network President at the same time Diller went to work for him in 1964, taking him on to New York City. Diller was soon placed in charge of negotiating broadcast rights to feature films. He was promoted to Vice President of Development in 1965. In this position, Diller created the ABC Movie of the Week, pioneering the concept of the made-for-television movie through a regular series of 90-minute films produced exclusively for television.[7]

Paramount

Diller served for 10 years as the chairman and chief executive officer of Paramount Pictures Corporation from 1974 until 1984. With Diller at the helm, the studio produced hit television programs such as Laverne & Shirley (1976), Taxi (1978), and Cheers (1982) and films that include Saturday Night Fever (1977), Grease (1978), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and sequel Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Terms of Endearment (1983), and Beverly Hills Cop (1984).[8] The New York Times reported in 1983 that Diller was also "one of the three key executives" for then Paramount parent company Gulf+Western, with A. D. Murphy, director of the motion picture producing program at the University of Southern California, even describing him as "probably the most successful executive in the film business today."[9] In the same article, Diller stated, among other things, that he wanted to use Paramount to make movies based on games distributed by then Gulf+Western-owned video game manufacturing company Sega.[9] As head of Paramount, Diller also put together a three-way ownership of the USA Network in 1981 in order to prevent the Gulf+Western owned Madison Square Garden from selling its interest in the network. Diller also focused on having the Madison Square Garden maintain rights to its sports games, which in turn could allow for an extended level of broadcasting for future Madison Square Garden events as not only a source of programming for the USA Network, but also as a source of programming for Madison Square Garden Network cable subscribers and any future regional pay-television network.[9]

Fox

From October 1984 to April 1992, Diller held the positions of chairman and chief executive officer of 20th Century Fox, where he created and launched the Fox network and greenlighted shows such as Married... with Children and The Simpsons.[10][11]

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."[12] After leaving Fox, Diller's company Arrow Investments Inc. purchased a $25 million stake in the QVC teleshopping network. Despite owning less than 3 percent of the network, Diller gained supervision of the network after forming a partnership with Liberty Media Corporation and the Comcast Corporation which made all of their shares a single group on matters which required shareholder approval.[13] New York Times journalist Calvin Sims noted on December 11, 1992 that Diller sought "to turn the shopping channel into an on-line entertainment and merchandising service in which the subscriber and the cable company can freely interact."[13] He then launched a bid to purchase Paramount Communications, but lost it to Viacom. Diller resigned from QVC in 1995.[14]

HSN and USA Broadcasting

In August 1995, Diller acquired the assets of Silver King Broadcasting.[15] His ownership of Silver Broadcasting would be finalized in March 1996.[15] In August 1996, it was agreed that Silver King Broadcasting, now under Diller's leadership, would buy back the Home Shopping Network (HSN), a former Silver King asset which split from the company in 1992, and that the two companies would merge.[16][17] 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..[18] Through his purchase of HSN, Diller would also eventually acquire Universal's cable and domestic-television assets from the Bronfman family.[19]

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 USA Broadcasting of which the flagship station was WAMI-TV in Miami Beach, Florida.[20] In October 1997, it was announced that Diller would be acquiring the USA Network, which was run by Kay Koplovitz, and other Seagram-owned Universal TV businesses, which included the Koplovitz-run USA Network spinoff Sci Fi Channel,[21] for $4.1 billion and that these networks would be owned by Diller's Home Shopping Network.[22] Diller previously had owned stock in the USA Network in the early 1980s, when Paramount Pictures acquired part of the network under his leadership.[23] Paramount parent company Gulf + Western also owned the Madison Square Garden Sports Corp., which helped create the USA Network with Koplovitz.[9][23] 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.[9]

Diller's purchase of the USA Network was finalized in February 1998.[24] In April 1998, Diller would assume the chairman and CEO positions which Koplovitz previously held at USA Networks since 1977.[21][25] During Diller's time as head of the USA Network, the network's flagship WWF programming experienced a dramatic ratings turnaround, with WWF Raw dominating the ratings on cable television.[26] 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.”[27] 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,[28] 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.[28] Hammer, who has openly credited Diller as her mentor, would in later years serve on the board of directors at IAC/InterActiveCorp.[29]

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 New York City and Los Angeles, plus the significantly low ratings such shows received in Miami Beach, the remaining shows were moved to Los Angeles to regain traction, but never did. Diller eventually sold the TV assets to Univision after rejecting a bid from The Walt Disney Company. The USA Network and its assets were later sold off to Vivendi. Diller was still involved with the USA Network until the Vivendi sale was announced in December 2001.[30] Diller retained the assets of the Home Shopping Network and the subsequent Internet assets he acquired later to bolster the HSN Online stable that later became IAC/InterActiveCorp.[31]

2000s

Barry Diller at the Web 2.0 Conference 2005

Diller was the Chairman of Expedia and the Chairman of IAC/InterActiveCorp, an interactive commerce conglomerate and the parent of companies including HomeAdvisor, Match Group (until 2020), Citysearch, and Connected Ventures, home of Vimeo and CollegeHumor (until 2020). IAC/InterActiveCorp is also the parent company of Tinder, UrbanSpoon, The Daily Beast, and more.[32] In 2005, IAC/InterActiveCorp acquired Ask.com, marking a strategic move into the Internet search category. He stepped down as Chief Executive Officer of IAC/InterActiveCorp on December 2, 2010.[33]

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 PBS program NOW with Bill Moyers, Diller voiced a strong warning against media consolidation. In the interview he referred to media ownership by a few big corporations as an oligarchy, saying the concentration strangles new ideas.[34]

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).[35]

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.[36] In 2012, Diller became an investor in the streaming service company Aereo.[37] 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.[37]

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.[38] IAC Films has also backed numerous films produced by Rudin, including Uncut Gems, Lady Bird, Eighth Grade, The Meyerowitz Stories, and Ex Machina.[39]

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.[40] 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.[41] 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 Michael Eisner (who was President of Paramount Pictures while Diller was its Chairman & CEO, and went on to become Chairman & CEO of The Walt Disney Company), Jeffrey Katzenberg (a head of production of Paramount under Diller who became a co-founder of DreamWorks SKG and former head of DreamWorks Animation and Walt Disney Studios), Strauss Zelnick (President at Fox while Diller was its Chairman and CEO who became the founder and CEO of private equity firm 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).[42]

Diller worked with Stephen Chao at Fox Television Network, whom he later hired as President of Programming and Marketing at USA Network. Julius Genachowski, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, served as Diller's General Counsel during their tenure at USA Broadcasting, and again as Chief of Business Operations and a member of Barry Diller's Office of the Chairman at 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."[43]

Personal life

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

In December 1992, it was publicly noted how Diller saw potential in online service.[13]

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.[44][45] He is a member of the Democratic Party and supporter of related political causes.[46] As of June 2020, Diller's estimated net worth was $4.2 billion.[47][1] He owns Eos, one of the largest private sailing yachts in the world.[48]

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 Eisner.[49]

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)[50]

However, New York Magazine wrote in 2001 that Diller is "often referred to as bisexual," stating that he has "lived most of his adult life as a more or less openly gay man," but also that his relationship with Diane von Fürstenberg "is said to be a warm and genuine one."[51]

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.[52] In 2012, Diller donated $30 million to the Hollywood Fund, which provides health and social care to retired individuals from the show-business world.[53]

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.[54] It is stated to be the largest donation to a public park in city history.[55][56] The park was completed on May 21, 2021.[57]

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. ^ a b Grigoriadis, Vanessa (May 11, 2012). "Blow Up the Box". New York Magazine. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  5. ^ Reported on the American CBS network's 60 Minutes, re-broadcast June 10, 2007.
  6. ^ "Barry Diller: Infinite learner | Masters of Scale Podcast". WaitWhat. Archived from the original on 2018-03-21. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
  7. ^ Karol, Michael (June 2005). The ABC Movie of the Week Companion: A Loving Tribute to the Classic Series. iUniverse. p. XIX. ISBN 978-0-595-35836-6. Retrieved October 10, 2010.
  8. ^ Bernard Weinraub (December 23, 1993). "THE PARAMOUNT DEAL; What Surprise? Friends Say Diller Always Defies Odds". The New York Times.
  9. ^ a b c d e Salmans, Sandra (August 28, 1983). "Barry Diller's Latest Starring Role". New York Times. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  10. ^ Alan Citron and John Lippman (February 25, 1992). "Diller Stuns Hollywood, Quits Fox Inc". Los Angeles Times.
  11. ^ Harmetz, Aljean (October 5, 1986). "Fox's Barry Diller Gambles On A Fourth TV Network". New York Times. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  12. ^ Masters, Kim (February 25, 1992). "Fox Chairman Barry Diller Resigns". Washington Post. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  13. ^ a b c Sims, Calvin (December 11, 1992). "COMPANY NEWS; Diller Acquires QVC Stake". New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  14. ^ Mark Landler (May 20, 1996). "Barry Diller Used to Work Here?". The New York Times.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ "Silver King to buy HSN". UPI. August 26, 1996. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  17. ^ Hofsmeister, Sallie (August 27, 1996). "Diller Makes 1.26". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  18. ^ Martin Peers (December 19, 1996). "Silver King annexes HSN". Variety. Archived from the original on 2016-02-20. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  19. ^ Bruck, Connie (May 3, 1998). "Bronfman's Big Deals". The New Yorker. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  20. ^ "The Legend of WAMI-TV". ke4qpf.com.
  21. ^ a b Hofmeister, Sallie (April 10, 1998). "USA Networks CEO Kay Koplovitz Resigns". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  22. ^ Quinones, Eric R. (October 20, 1997). "Barry Diller taking over USA Network and other Universal TV businesses". Associated Press. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  23. ^ a b "Time to buy all or half of USA Network" (PDF). Broadcasting Magazine. August 31, 1981. p. 24. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  24. ^ Fabrikant, Geraldine (February 15, 1998). "Barry Diller, Media Titan, Wants a Shot at the Small Time". New York Times. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  25. ^ "USA Network founder quits". CNN Money. April 9, 1998. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  26. ^ "Pro Wrestling a Darling of Teen-Age Boys and Cable TV". Bloomberg News. November 11, 1998. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  27. ^ Alex Marvez, Scripps Howard News Service (September 18, 1998). "Mudity episode brings remorse from McMahon". South Coast Today. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  28. ^ a b Assel, Shaun; Mike Mooneyham, Mike (February 2004). Sex, Lies, and Headlocks: The Real Story of Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment. The Crown Publishing Group. p. 188. ISBN 9780307758132. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  29. ^ Lieberman, David (2014-09-15). "Bonnie Hammer Re-Teams With Mentor Barry Diller On IAC Board". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  30. ^ "Vivendi seals USA deal". CNN Money. December 17, 2001. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  31. ^ Snider, Mike. "Today's special value: QVC owner acquires HSN for $2.1 billion". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2021-04-15.
  32. ^ "Barry Diller: Learn to unlearn | Masters of Scale Podcast". WaitWhat. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
  33. ^ Amy Thomson (December 2, 2010). "Diller Exits IAC CEO Role as Malone Exchanges Stake". Bloomberg.com.
  34. ^ "Moyers on America". PBS.
  35. ^ Fabrikant, Geraldine (October 26, 2006). "Diller Takes the Prize for Highest Paid". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  36. ^ 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.
  37. ^ a b Luckerson, Victor (June 25, 2014). "Aereo Backer Barry Diller: 'It's Over Now'". Time. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  38. ^ "Barry Diller – Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  39. ^ "With IAC Films (Sorted by Popularity Ascending)". IMDb. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  40. ^ 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.
  41. ^ Pound, Jesse (2020-04-16). "Billionaire Barry Diller says bail out everyone and 'worry about paying the bills later'". CNBC. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  42. ^ Mair, George (17 June 1998). The Barry Diller Story: The Life and Times of America's Greatest Entertainment Mogul. John Wiley and Sons. pp. 71–87. ISBN 978-0-471-29948-6. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  43. ^ 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.
  44. ^ "Barry Diller". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  45. ^ "Diane von Furstenberg". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  46. ^ Justin Menza (September 25, 2012). "Why I'm Voting for President Obama: Barry Diller". CNBC.
  47. ^ Forbes. "Profile: Barry Diller". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  48. ^ "The Haves and the Have-Yachts". The New Yorker. 2022-07-15. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  49. ^ Trotter, J.K. (22 April 2016). "Does the New York Times Have an Outing Policy Anymore?". Gawker. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  50. ^ Stewart, James B. (2005). DisneyWar. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-80993-1.
  51. ^ Roshan, Maer (March 5, 2001). "Inside Out". New York Magazine. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  52. ^ "Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation Awards $20 Million to Help Complete High Line Park". philanthropynewsdigest.org. 28 October 2015.
  53. ^ "Media Mogul Barry Diller Gives $30-Million to Hollywood Fund". philanthropy.com. June 6, 2015.
  54. ^ "Little Island". Hudson River Park. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  55. ^ "Hudson River's $130million Floating Park". Business Insider. February 15, 2015.
  56. ^ "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.
  57. ^ Kimmelman, Michael; Alfiky, Amr (2021-05-20). "A New $260 Million Park Floats on the Hudson. It's a Charmer". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-05-21.
  58. ^ "DGAs Honorary Life Member Award". Directors Guild of America.
  59. ^ "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
  60. ^ "Honorees". Television Academy.
  61. ^ "Bloomberg Business". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on 2010-01-06.
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
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