According to the Wall Street Journal, Playboy Enterprises is going to offer the job of CEO to Scott Flanders, president and CEO of Irvine-based Freedom Communications Inc. WSJ cautioned that contracts had not been signed and the deal could still fall apart, but, "after a couple of recent visits to the Playboy Mansion, Mr. Flanders has emerged as the clear favorite". The CEO post has been vacant since Christie Hefner stepped down late last year.

Freedom Communications owns several television stations and newspapers in the United States, including the Orange County Register.