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What Was Brian Roberts Doing in Saudi Arabia?

The Comcast C.E.O., who’s at least nominally in the WBD hunt, was conspicuously absent last week when Hollywood’s elite feted David Zaslav. Was he searching for a deep-pocketed backer?

Brian Roberts
Roberts was ostensibly in Riyadh for the PIF’s Future Investment Initiative, the annual gathering launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for invited C.E.O.s, investors, and others that want to “translate debate into action across capital, technology, and policy.” Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Matthew Belloni
November 11, 2025

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Those in attendance at the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s big dinner honoring Warner Bros. Discovery C.E.O. David Zaslav on October 30 may have noticed a semi-conspicuous absence: Brian Roberts, the Comcast C.E.O. who has known Zaslav for years and kinda maybe wants to buy his company. Turns out Roberts was unable to attend that event in Los Angeles because he was in Saudi Arabia with the Public Investment Fund, the kingdom’s highly capitalized (and often courted) investment vehicle. It was a curious sojourn, given that Zaslav would like to generate a bidding war for Warner Discovery—a bidding war that, he very much hopes, will include Comcast and some deep-pocketed backer. Could that backer be Saudi?