Mark Burnett Exits MGM Leadership Role Following Amazon Sale

Mark Burnett has formally resigned from his top leadership role at MGM, a move that comes 10 months after Amazon closed its $8.5 billion acquisition of the studio. 

Burnett’s departure from the MGM fold is not a surprise. The producer, known for enduring unscripted hits including CBS’ “Survivor,” NBC’s “The Voice” and ABC’s “Shark Tank,” has not served as a conventional TV executive during his nine years with MGM and was not expected to stick around after the sale. 

Moreover, as a significant equity holder in MGM, Burnett profited handsomely from the Amazon deal. In the nine years since he first sold his One Three Media production banner to MGM, Burnett has reaped an estimated $1 billion. 

In a memo to MGM staffers, Burnett said he intended to pursue new ventures as a producer. He also emphasized that he worked hard to ensure that MGM TV’s roughly 150 staffers were offered positions after the Amazon sale. MGM now operates as an autonomous film and TV production entity under the umbrella of Amazon Studios, headed by Jennifer Salke. MGM chief operating officer Christopher Brearton will work with Salke and Mike Hopkins, senior VP of Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Studios. 

“After months of collaborative transition efforts, we have thoughtfully re- organized our teams so that they all have the opportunity to prosper under the leadership of Mike Hopkins, Jennifer Salke and Christopher Brearton. In these days of media layoffs I am proud to say that everyone in the TV division has been offered a way to continue to contribute. No one was left behind,” he wrote. 

Here are the full memos from Burnett and Hopkins: 

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.  I get a lot of praise for that.  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.  I am proud to have been part of the team that achieved the historic sale to Amazon in 2022.  

Now, after months of collaborative transition efforts, we have thoughtfully re-organized our teams so that they all have the opportunity to prosper under the leadership of Mike Hopkins, Jennifer Salke and Christopher Brearton. In these days of media layoffs I am proud to say that everyone in the TV division has been offered a way to continue to contribute. No one was left behind.   

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 

Here is Hopkins’ 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 

More to come