Mar 27, 2017 · 41m · how-i-built-this
Power Rangers: Haim Saban
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
In this episode of How I Built This, Guy Raz interviews media titan Haim Saban, charting his journey from an impoverished refugee to a billionaire entertainment mogul behind Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Fox Family Worldwide.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Guy holds 34.7% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
Guy as informed peer 2.5 Guest teaching 2.1 Guest disagreement 1.6 Guy pushing back 1.4
speaking balance: gold is Guy, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 8:45 Saban deflects Raz's age skepticism with Mark Zuckerberg comparison
Saban reacts combatively to Raz's suggestion that a 24-year-old was too young to promote major international concerts by pointing out that Zuckerberg built Facebook at the same age.
Hardest push from Guy ▶ 32:22 Raz presses Saban on rejecting a half-billion-dollar payoutRaz challenges Saban's refusal to cash out at Fox's initial $500 million valuation, prompting Saban to vehemently insist there was not a shot in hell he would accept less than full value.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 14:35 Saban educates Raz on cartoon music royalties versus sitcomsSaban breaks down how collection agencies like BMI pay for wall-to-wall music in cartoons compared to brief stingers in prime-time sitcoms.
Guy holds their own ▶ 16:21 Raz corrects Saban on the Heathcliff lyricsRaz demonstrates immediate pop culture expertise by catching Saban's incorrect lyric and singing back the precise verse on air.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | Guy as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | Guy pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Egyptian Roots, Refugee Migration, and Tel Aviv Poverty | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Guy Raz facilitates the conversation about Saban's youth and migration from Alexandria to Tel Aviv. Saban shares personal, vivid anecdotes about his early life and overcoming social prejudice without friction. | |
| Military Entertainment Service and Transition to Band Management | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | Raz cites biographical research about Saban turning down his bass amplifier on stage, which Saban candidly confirms before explaining his natural move to band management. | |
| Promoting Concerts and Incurring Major War-Related Debt | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | When Raz asks how a 20-something could promote huge international acts, Saban pushes back briskly by comparing himself to Mark Zuckerberg building Facebook at 24. | |
| Producing Platinum Records in France with Noam | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Saban recounts his rapid transition to Paris and his lucky breakthrough producing a platinum children's record, while Raz maintains an inquisitive and supportive interviewing stance. | |
| Capitalizing on Animated Television Music Royalties | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | Raz playfully sings the Heathcliff theme song, correcting Saban's lyric recall, while Saban explains his shrewd strategy for collecting cartoon music publishing royalties via BMI. | |
| Discovering Super Sentai and Enduring Eight Years of Pitching | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Raz contributes personal context about living in Japan and recognizing the original Super Sentai footage, as Saban details his eight-year persistence pitching the concept in the US. | |
| Mid-Broadcast Overview and Fox Network Preview | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Saban explains how Fox Kids executive Margaret Loesch gave Power Rangers an eight-week test run that turned into a ratings phenomenon, dismissing Raz's inquiry about whether he gloated over skeptics. | |
| Establishing the Fox Kids Network 50/50 Joint Venture | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | Raz presses Saban to explain why Rupert Murdoch agreed to a 50/50 partnership rather than an outright acquisition. Saban details the leverage provided by his international distribution infrastructure. | |
| Negotiating the Acquisition of Pat Robertson's Family Channel | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | Saban challenges Raz's characterization of his dealmaking as 'hustling,' prompting Raz to clarify modern positive connotations before Saban describes acquiring Pat Robertson's Family Channel. | |
| The Multibillion-Dollar Sale of Fox Family to Disney | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | Raz questions why Saban turned down a half-billion-dollar valuation offer from Fox. Saban firmly asserts that holding out for a fair market price led to Disney's $5.3 billion buyout. | |
| Reflections on Motivation, Philanthropy, and Musical Legacy | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | Raz asks deep reflective questions regarding identity, wealth, and ego. Saban demurs on grand self-definitions, viewing himself merely as a businessman on his way to the next meeting. | |
| How You Built That: Paul Tecker and H2OPS Sparkling Water | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Raz interviews Paul Tecker in a pre-recorded segment exploring the founding and product development of H2OPS hop-infused sparkling water. | |
| Program Production Credits and Listener Information | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Standard post-interview credits, housekeeping details, and podcast recommendations narrated solely by Guy Raz. |
Statements from this episode (17)
Saban's immigrant family shared a single room with a sex worker
“It was one room in an apartment that had three rooms, and the other two rooms were occupied by another couple and by a hooker and her pimp.”
Saban: Faced overt ethnic racism from European Jewish families in Israel
“I had a girlfriend whose parents were from Poland, and her mother said to her, if, ah, you bring that schwarze chaye, that black animal, to the house, I'm gonna jump off the balcony and kill myself.”
Saban brought Ray Charles and José Feliciano to Israel as promoter
“First I became a tour promoter in Israel, and I brought many artists to Israel, from Ray Charles to Jose Feliciano, Blood, Sweat, and Tears, and many others.”
Saban accumulated $600,000 in debt by age 29 as promoter
“Despite
My success, quote unquote, I was in debt of 600,000 dollars.”
Saban lost money every night on sold-out shows after currency devaluation
“We had big shows lined up, where all of the expenses were in dollars, and the revenues were in Israeli pounds, with the devaluation of the pounds, we played to full houses, and were losing money every night.”
Saban sold over 18 million records in France over eight years
“I started a production company, then I set up my own label, And I sold over a period of eight years that I lived there on my own label, ah, more than eighteen million records.”
Saban: Cartoons generate far more music royalties than hit sitcoms
“If you look at a sitcom there are musical stings, so they have cumulatively maybe two minutes of music, maybe three. But on a cartoon, you have wall-to-wall music, and because these collection agencies pay based on the number of minutes that air, you would mak…”
Saban: He and his partner were once the top writers at BMI
“At one point, my music partner and I were the top writers at BMI.”
Saban built Power Rangers cheaply by dubbing masked Japanese action footage
“It all of a sudden dawned on me that once they turn into superheroes, meaning into Power Rangers, and they have their masks on, and they're kicking monster butts, it could be anywhere. So all of the action scenes, which is what costs the most money were basica…”
Saban: Bought Power Rangers rights in 1984 and pitched for eight years
“No, I bought it in 84, and I schlepped it, remember, cartoon schlepper, schlepper? And I schlepped it for eight years.”
Saban: Power Rangers delivered double to triple the ratings of Fox Kids hits
“And within less than a week, it beat every other show. Across it generated the highest rating of any show on Fox Kids. It beat, at the time, you had Looney Tunes or Tiny Toons, you had Batman, you had all these shows that were the hit of Fox Kids, and it deliv…”
Saban refused to sell to Murdoch, demanding a cashless joint venture
“And he has all kinds of concepts that he's putting on the table, and I was holding firm for no money would exchange hands. We would put our content into a joint venture, and he would put The network into that joint venture.”
Saban: Margaret Loesch told Murdoch replicating Saban would take five-plus years
“Well, he asked Margaret Lash, who was running Fox, he said, to duplicate what Chaim has done, including his international distribution and presence worldwide. How long will it take you? And she said, I can do it, but it might take me five years plus.”