Soros Fund Management is pushing back against Connoisseur Media CEO Jeff Warshaw, accusing him of using broad discovery requests in the Audacy case to gain access to sensitive competitor data. In a joint filing with co-defendant Michael Del Nin, Soros said Warshaw’s team has asked for contracts, emails, investment committee presentations, FCC submissions, and financial statements dating back to August 2022, many of which reference Warshaw personally or involve Connoisseur Media.
The dispute arises as Warshaw, whose company recently closed its acquisition of Alpha Media, now leads one of the ten largest US radio groups by revenue and stations. Soros argues that discovery should not become a vehicle for him to gather business intelligence on rival broadcasters.
Two areas of contention stand out. Warshaw is seeking documents related to Audacy’s 2023 content distribution partnership with iHeartMedia, struck six months after Audacy’s bankruptcy exit, as well as records from Soros Fund’s investment committee tied to its failed bid for Cox Radio. Soros contends both requests are irrelevant to the claims at hand and risk exposing confidential strategy.
Warshaw has also demanded executive compensation agreements at other Soros-owned media outlets, including Crooked Media and First We Feast, along with broader details on investments in radio, podcasting, and digital publishing. Defense attorneys call the requests “overbroad, unduly burdensome, and not proportional,” and propose limiting the timeframe for relevant documents to June 2023 through May 2025. Negotiations continue over a confidentiality order to safeguard sensitive materials.
The case stems from Warshaw’s allegation that Del Nin broke a verbal promise during Audacy’s restructuring, pledging either the CEO role or a 5% profit share in exchange for his involvement. Unless settled earlier, the dispute is scheduled for jury trial in 2027.