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executive briefing here is no doubt that Haim Saban is a tough and able negotiator, whose skills have allowed him to amass a net worth of more than $3 billion. He made his fortune in the entertainment business and has put his money to work investing in broadcast entities and brands that can be exploited across multiple platforms. In fact, he was in the business of developing and building brands and properties long before the two words became commonly used terms in show-biz vernacular. He started to hone his business acumen at an early age. As a young man, he built the premier tourpromotion business in Israel. In 1975, he moved to France and set up an independent record label, marking his first foray into the entertainment business. He then moved to the U.S., settling down in Los Angeles, where he opened a chain of recording studios and, in 1988, founded Saban Entertainment, an international production, distribution and merchandising company. A number of television shows followed, developed around Marvel Comics characters. The company’s growth trajectory changed markedly after Saban spotted a show in Japan. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers turned Saban Entertainment into a major player not only in children’s programming, but also in the media business. Saban merged his company with News Corporation’s Fox Children’s Network, which was rebranded
Fox Family Worldwide. This joint venture was sold to The Walt Disney Company in 2001. Saban continued to make deals. After setting up the Saban Capital Group (SCG), of which he is chairman and CEO, he led a group of investors in acquiring a controlling stake in the German broadcast entity ProSiebenSat.1 Media, which was sold in 2007, and a controlling stake in Bezeq, the Israeli telecommunications corporation. He also previously held a stake in the Israeli broadcaster Keshet. In 2007, SCG teamed up with other investors to acquire Univision, the leading Spanish-language network serving the U.S. Hispanic market. SCG’s other current private-equity investments include Celestial Tiger Entertainment, a venture with Lionsgate and Astro, Malaysia’s largest pay-TV platform, to launch and operate new branded payTV channels across Asia; Taomee, China’s leading children’s online entertainment company; MNC, Indonesia’s only vertically integrated media company; and Sky Vision, Indonesia’s largest pay-TV platform. In 2010, SCG set up Saban Brands, whose mission is to acquire and develop entertainment properties and consumer brands. For its first big property, the company returned to its roots, reinventing Power Rangers for today’s multitasking kids. Demonstrating his continued belief in the power of television, Saban, through a subsidiary of SCG, launched a new children’s block, Vortexx, on The CW in the U.S. As Saban tells World Screen, SCG is open for business and interested in investing in content companies.
Haim Saban
Saban Capital Group
WS: You have a track record of investing in
television entities. Even though the business is facing some challenges nowadays with the sluggish economy and fragmentation of the audience, what makes you believe so much in television as a medium? SABAN: Because it has withstood every assault from any other medium. The fact of the matter is that networks and TV stations are still very profitable businesses. We just made a major investment in the number one broadcaster in Indonesia.We made the investment in October and that investment is up close to 100 percent. So our experience over the years with broadcasting has been very positive. ProSiebenSat.1 was a big success. Keshet was a big success. Univision is a magnificent company with magnificent management catering to the fastest-growing demographic in America. We believe it’s going to be a great success for us, too. WS: Is Asia the area of the world right now where you feel there is a lot of potential and growth opportunities? 10/12
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