On Tuesday night, liberal comedian Jon Stewart announced that he would be departing The Daily Show later this year to pursue other professional endeavors. Following Stewart’s decision to end his 16 year run at Comedy Central, many in the media have wondered what his next move would be, including former Yahoo CEO Ross Levinsohn who argued that he would pay Stewart $100 million per year for a new television distribution model.
Speaking on CNBC’s Fast Money Halftime Report on Thursday, Levinsohn called Stewart “the franchise... Jon Stewart is authentic to the core and I think the millennial generation certainly knows that.”
The former Yahoo CEO argued that Stewart should establish a “direct to consumer over-the-top opportunity” where individuals would pay around $10 a month to receive his form of comedy. In justifying Stewart’s $100 million annual salary, Levinsohn detailed how he could supposedly restructure the future of direct-to-consumer entertainment:
If he goes to direct to consumers and think of it in this context, 50 cents a day to watch Jon Stewart's network, 50 cents a day, half the price of The New York Post, that -- and he does it four days a week, $8 a month for subscribers, you get a million subscribers, that's almost $100 million a year in subscriber fees not to mention advertising, commerce things he could create. This is a franchise. This is a man who could create the next generation of a Viacom or a Time Warner period.
After admitting that he was a big fan of Stewart’s liberal program, the former Yahoo CEO concluded his remarks by heaping even more praise on the Comedy Central host as a way to further justify his $100 million per year valuation of him:
When you talk about men 18 to 25, he's number one. Right? These are the most important demographics out there. Look, if I was back at Yahoo! I would have hopped on a plane, gotten into a Brinks truck and driven it to his studio and said whatever you want because you can build an entire business around this man.
See relevant transcript below.
CNBC’s Fast Money Halftime Report
February 12, 2015
SCOTT WAPNER: While the entertainment world is shedding a tear over the coming departure of Daily Show anchor Jon Stewart our next guest sees a big opportunity. Ross Levinsohn, the former interim CEO at Yahoo! Current board member of a number of media companies. He says he’d pay Stewart $100 million a year for a new distribution model. Ross joins us live from L.A. today. Ross thanks for coming on.
ROSS LEVINSOHN: You bet. Thanks for having me.
WAPNER: Heck of a provocative thought you put forth on Facebook yesterday. How would it work?
LEVINSOHN: Well look, first of all, let’s start with who this guy is. He is the franchise. So, if you're talking about, we’re at a moment of the tipping point, I think, for millennials in the media business. Jon Stewart is authentic to the core and I think the millennial generation certainly knows that. The way it works is pretty simple. I think we’re talking about direct to consumer over-the-top opportunity. We've seen this happen already. Glen Beck is doing it. I think he’s somewhere around 3-400,000 paying subscribers a month at $10 a month. So you can do the math. That’s 35, $40 million.
Rich Greenfield, a pretty respected analyst, thinks he gets to $100 million a year in revenue for that business. Jon Stewart is probably other than Lorne Michaels, probably the most important figure in satire, in comedy. Think about the people he has helped launch their careers. Stephen Colbert, Steven Carell, Larry Wilmore, Samantha Bee, Michael Che, Olivia Munn. If I'm Jon Stewart, and he clearly wants to take time off, because I don't think this was about money at Viacom.
If I was Viacom, I would back the truck up. If he goes to direct to consumers and think of it in this context, 50 cents a day to watch Jon Stewart's network, 50 cents a day, half the price of The New York Post, that -- and he does it four days a week, $8 a month for subscribers, you get a million subscribers, that's almost $100 million a year in subscriber fees not to mention advertising, commerce things he could create. This is a franchise. This is a man who could create the next generation of a Viacom or a Time Warner period.
WAPNER: You're well connected within the media landscape and the media world. I know you have a lot of friends in a lot of places. Do you think people are having this conversation today? Have you had this conversation with anybody?
LEVINSOHN: No. You know, I was very disappointed to hear he was leaving because I watch him every night I can. And I was sitting talking to my wife about it and said this guy should go direct. I mean, there is a generation of fans who would follow Jon Stewart probably anywhere, much like Howard Stern did when he moved to Sirius. So I have not talked to anybody. What I do know is all the major studios, all the major media companies, are really focused on how they talk to millennials going forward.
WAPNER: And he's the bridge to do that in your estimation. You say he has the following. You liken him stepping down to Cronkite stepping down from CBS News and that he can reshape an entire business.
LEVINSOHN: For this generation absolutely, and beyond. Remember, 80% of his audience is 18 to 49. He's number fourish, I think he's number four amongst all late night. But when you drop that down to 18 to 34, I think he's number two. When you talk about men 18 to 25, he's number one. Right? These are the most important demographics out there. Look, if I was back at Yahoo! I would have hopped on a plane, gotten into a Brinks truck and driven it to his studio and said whatever you want because you can build an entire business around this man.
