Mark Burnett, Chairman of MGM’s Worldwide Television Group, is exiting after the company’s acquisition by Amazon.
Burnett will be leaving the company. “independently creating and innovating” He will also continue to supervise his legacy series. Survivor, Shark Tank And The Voice
Deadline last week revealed the identity of the man in question The ApprenticeAs the pace of Amazon’s fold-up and MGM gained momentum, he was considering his options.
Additional details regarding the MGM and Amazon structure are coming soon, Prime Video and Studios chief Mike Hopkins declaring that employees will be provided with more information. “hearing more shortly” About the reorganization.
He made the announcement seven years later, when he first began his relationship. MGM bought a majority of his One Three Media & LightWorkers Media businesses in September 2014 and then fully purchased the companies the year following.
He became President of MGM Television and Digital Group in December 2015 and re-upped his deal in 2018 and became Chairman of the studio’s Worldwide Television Group.
It’s understood that Burnett’s current contract was up at the end of the year And there’s been rumors that he’s started talking to others about setting up a new production company.
Burnett has overseen both scripted and unscripted at the company, which is behind series such as Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, FX’s Fargo, Netflix’s Addams Family seriesWednesday and theVikingsfranchise.
But Burnett, who is an exec producer of NBC’s The Voice, ABC’s Shark Tank and CBS’ Survivor, is best known for his work in the unscripted realm.
He hasn’t overseen a great number of new hits, relaunching his first ever show, Eco-Challenge, as World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji, for Amazon in 2020 but it only aired one season, as well as boxing competition series The Contender for Epix, and Steve Harvey’s Funderdome for ABC.
He’s currently the exec producer of Generation Gap for ABC, along with Jimmy Kimmel.
Mark Burnett’s Note:
Dear colleagues
We’ve worked together for a very long time, in some cases for decades. We’ve innovated new shows and maintained our legacy hits with one of the highest renewal rates in global television. This is something I receive a lot praise for. But we all know it’s not about me. It’s about all of you.
It takes great teams of talented people to produce more than 3,200 total hours of television including long-running hits like Survivor, The Voice and Shark Tank and innovative scripted series like The Bible, which together have garnered 143 EMMY nominations.
In 2014 I sold a majority of my companies to MGM and came to this storied, 100 year-old studio as President of Television. Later I sold the rest of my companies for MGM stock and became Chairman of MGM Global Television because I believed in the value of MGM.
I had a clear strategic vision to build and grow MGM’s television division with my dynamic team, which included buying great companies like Evolution and Big Fish, adding international scripted and unscripted teams, and starting a documentaries unit. We took calibrated risks and hired great people – and the business grew.
That growth was critical to MGM’s future, because MGM needed to maximize its value in order to attract a global streaming partner and be ready for its next 100 years. My proudest moment was when I helped to achieve the landmark sale of Amazon.com in 2022.
We have now re-organized the teams after many months of cooperative transition. This will allow them all to thrive under the guidance of Jennifer Salke, Christopher Brearton, and Mike Hopkins. In these times of media cuts, I’m proud to report that every member of the TV division was offered an opportunity to keep contributing. Nobody was left out.
As I step away from day to day management and back into independently creating and innovating, I will continue to oversee my legacy series and be available to all of you and to Amazon for guidance and support.
Thanks team – I literally could not have done any of this without each of you.
Mark Burnett.
Mike Hopkins’s Note
Hi team –
As you likely just read, Mark Burnett has decided to leave Amazon and MGM to resume his work as an independent creator and producer. I wanted to follow up by thanking him for his countless contributions to our success and, on a personal level, for his partnership and counsel throughout the integration. I know you’ll all agree that he is one of the most innovative, creative, and prolific television producers in our industry, and we have been extraordinarily fortunate to have him on our team.
Mark’s stepping aside of course raises both opportunities and questions about how we’ll be organized moving forward. You’ll be hearing more about this shortly.
I am incredibly proud of the outstanding television and film content that we produce, and look forward to 2023 and beyond, when as a fully integrated team we continue to build on this legacy. Thanks for all your commitment and dedication as we head into a dynamic and successful future together.
Mike