CNN President Jeff Zucker Renews Contract Through 2020 Election

Executive has led the cable news network since 2013

Jeff Zucker
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CNN president Jeff Zucker is staying put.

The cable news boss signed a deal “several months ago” to extend his contract through the 2020 election, according to Vanity Fair. The extension adds at least another couple of years to Zucker’s tenure as head of the network, which he’s run since 2013.

It is unclear when, exactly, the pact was signed, or when Zucker’s current contract was set to expire. Representatives for CNN did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment.

News of Zucker’s contract extension comes a day after a federal court approved AT&T’s $85 billion acquisition of CNN parent company Time Warner in spite of opposition by the Trump justice department.

Zucker previously served as president of NBC Entertainment, where he recruited Donald Trump to host “The Apprentice,” the reality competition show that first launched the now-president to national attention. However, since the beginning of Trump’s political career in 2015, Zucker and CNN have become frequent targets for Trump’s ire, with the president repeatedly labeling the cable network as “fake news.”

The new deal means that Zucker will continue to oversee the network’s coverage of the rest of Trump’s first term in office, as well as any potential re-election campaign.

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