executive compensation

David Zaslav saw his total compensation package last year jump by more than $10 million to $49.7 million in 2023 — with Warner Bros. Discovery awarding him a base salary of $3 million, plus $23 million in stock awards, and non-equity incentive plan compensation (a cash bonus) of $22 million. It’s the second rather princely CEO package in as many days in an industry known for them as Netflix yesterday unveiled a similarly sized package for co-CEO Ted Sarandos.

The parade of CEO pay disclosures in regulatory filings in 2023 will be remembered for bad timing, ugly optics and symbolic shareholder votes.

Netflix said it expects to pay its co-CEOs, Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters, $40 million each in 2024, the same target as in 2023. Both executives get a compensation package of $3 million in base salary, $6 million in bonuses, $15.5 million in restricted stock units and $15.5 million in performance-based restricted stock units, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Executive chairman Reed Hastings is expected to get total compensation of $1 million.

With concerns over Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic lawsuits still heavily lingering, Fox Corp. shareholders are voting on a short slate of issues Friday afternoon: electing seven directors, ratifying the selection of Ernst & Young LLP as the company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024; and executive compensation.

that include connecting executive compensation to future costly legal exposure.

In a symbolic rebuke of Netflix’s top executives, company shareholders voted against approving the compensation packages of leaders including co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters. At the streamer’s June 1 annual shareholders meeting, investors failed to approve the proposed exec pay packages for 2023. But the vote was a non-binding “say-on-pay” advisory measure, meaning Netflix’s board can disregard the result. The board had unanimously recommended voting for the 2023 compensation plans.

Economists are fretting about a recession. Media stocks are in the toilet. Layoffs are being enacted monthly as a spirit of cut, cut, cut grips Hollywood and Silicon Valley. Oh, and screenwriters are on strike, while directors and actors are threatening to join them when their contracts expire next month. But for the media moguls and tech entrepreneurs who run the major conglomerates, it’s business as usual in one important respect. Yes, most of these corporate chieftains trimmed their pay packages … but not all of them did.

In what was a blockbuster year for the local TV station owner, Nexstar CEO Perry Sook’s 2022 pay package soared to $39.3 million, according to the company’s proxy filing, released Friday. That was up from $21.1 million in 2021. Sook’s 2022 compensation package was driven mostly by a $33.3 million stock grant, with his salary at $2 million, a $1 million bonus, and $3 million in non-equity incentive compensation.

Jeff Shell, the ousted CEO of NBCUniversal, forfeited compensation valued at $43 million for 2022 after being fired for cause last Sunday. NBCU parent Comcast said in an SEC filing today:  “As previously disclosed, Mr. Shell’s employment was terminated with cause on April 23, 2023. As a result, he did not receive any supplemental payments or benefits in connection with his termination. He will receive only his accrued but unpaid base salary and vacation time, vested employee benefits and reimbursement for any unreimbursed business expenses in accordance with his employment agreement. Upon his termination, all unvested PSUs and RSUs and all vested and unvested stock options, which had an estimated fair value of $43.3 million as of the termination date, were forfeited and canceled.”

In a Wednesday Securities and Exchange Commission filing, WBD stated that President-CEO Zaslav’s executive comp package totaled $39.3 million last year. $3.1 million of that sum was his salary, with the rest being stock awards ($12 million), stock option awards ($1.4 million), non-equity incentive plan comp ($21.8 million) and “all other” compensation ($925,489). While Zaslav’s pay is down considerably from 2021, it’s important to note the reason behind the major dip is an unprecedented $203 million stock option grant that inflated his total 2021 compensation package to a staggering $246.6 million.

Paramount CEO Bob Bakish’s compensation for 2022 was $32.05 million, up from $20.06 million in 2021, according to a proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Bakish received a stock award of $16 million. He did not receive a stock award in 2021. He got a $16 million stock award in 2020, when his compensation was $39 million. Paramount also announced the  addition of Dawn Ostroff as an independent, non-executive director.

Warner Bros. Discovery has tweaked its CEO’s employment contract, granting a bigger pot of restricted stock units but linking them to free cash flow targets. David Zaslav, who is currently entitled to receive annual performance-related restricted stock (PRSU) awards with an initial value of $12 million, could now double the number of shares underlying that if the company meets certain targets. And he’s also eligible to receive an additional PRSU award valued at $11.5 million a year.

The company also details severance payments due Geoff Morrell, who was fired as head of corporate affairs in April 2022.

Netflix has issued estimates for the 2023 compensation of its top executives, with Co-CEOs Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos set to take home $34.65 million and $40 million, respectively. The forecast by the board of director’s compensation committee, disclosed Friday in an SEC filing, is in line with 2022. Hastings will receive $650,000 in base salary and stock options worth $34 million. Sarandos will get a salary of $3 million, options worth another $20 million and a bonus targeted at $17 million.

Compared to how much he was making when he last held the job, Bob Iger is a bargain in his second tour as CEO of Walt Disney Co. According to a filing with the SEC, Iger will have a $1 million annual salary and an annual  bonus that could earn him up to another $1 million. As part of the company’s long-term equity-based incentive plans, Iger is also eligible for an yearly award with a target value of $25 million.

Lionsgate has extended CEO Jon Feltheimer’s contract for another year, which will now take him through Aug. 21, 2025. Feltheimer last signed a contract in 2020, which would have him at the studio through 2024. Lionsgate has now added another year to his employment.

The new pact runs through 2027.

Jon Carpenter is also eligible for short-term incentives and gets 400,000 restricted stock units.

The heiress’ move comes two decades after her father, Roy E. Disney, led a proxy fight that ousted then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner.

Jeff Shell, CEO of Comcast-owned NBCUniversal, saw his total compensation climb to $21.6 million last year, up 30% over the year prior — the biggest pay bump among Comcast’s top execs in 2021. Comcast Chairman-CEO Brian Roberts’ pay package rose 3.7% in 2021, to $34 million. The disclosures came in the cable and entertainment giant’s proxy statement filing with the SEC Friday.

Nielsen CEO David Kenny’s total compensation for 2021 was $13.8 million, up 29% from the previous year, according to Nielsen’s proxy statement, released Tuesday. Kenny took a pay cut in 2020, a year in which the COVID-19 pandemic affected most businesses. Kenny received $12.9 million in compensation during 2019.

Top officers at Gray Television received sizable stock awards in connection with the acquisitions of Quincy Media and Meredith Corp.’s local media group, boosting their total compensation. CEO Hilton Howell Jr., received $11.5 million in total compensation in 2021, up 77% from 2020’s $6.5 million, according to the company’s proxy statement, released Friday.

AT&T chief executive John Stankey’s compensation totaled $24.8 million last year, up from $21 million the year earlier. According to a proxy statement filed with the SEC, retired CEO Randall Stephenson made $16.3 million in 2021 (down from $29 million).

The company disclosed latest annual compensation details for its top executives, with the calculation for Zaslav getting a huge boost from stock options he received as part of a contract extension.

Bob Chapek earned $32.5 million in compensation for Disney’s fiscal 2021 year, more than double the $14 million he pulled in during 2020, which was heavily depreciated due to the first year of the pandemic. The pay results were disclosed in an SEC filing on Wednesday.

Netflix co-CEO and Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos is set to receive $40 million in compensation next year, while Chairman and Co-CEO Reed Hastings stands to make north of $34 million. Netflix disclosed the annual salaries and stock option allocation for 2022 for its executive officers in an SEC filing Tuesday.

Discovery gave Chief Executive David Zaslav 14.8 million stock options on Sunday, the day before the company and AT&T announced a plan to merge Discovery with AT&T’s WarnerMedia unit, according to a securities filing. The company valued the option grants at roughly $190 million on Wednesday evening, taking into account the company’s share-price volatility and potential stock appreciation over their eight-year term.

Discovery announced Tuesday it’s extended the employment contract of president and CEO David Zaslav employment contract through Dec. 31, 2027. His previous contract ran through 2023. The extension was made in connection with the definitive agreement between AT&T and Discovery Inc. to combine WarnerMedia’s entertainment, sports and news assets with Discovery to create a new standalone entertainment company. Zaslav will lead the proposed new company. Above, AT&T CEO John Stankey (l) and Zaslav at Monday’s press conference announcing the deal.

Discovery CEO David Zaslav’s total compensation for 2020 was $37.7 million, down 18% from $45.8 million in 2019, according to a proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The big change in Zaslav’s pay was that he received no option award for 2020. Last year, he received nearly  $7 million in options.

Comcast also disclosed $32.7 million in 2020 compensation for its chairman and CEO Brian Roberts.

ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish saw his pay increase slightly in 2020 to $38.9 million in 2020, according to an SEC filing on Friday. Bakish pulled in $36.6 million in compensation for 2019, which was split between his duties as CEO of Viacom before the merger with CBS toward the end of 2019.

Gray Television said CEO Hilton H. Howell Jr.’s total compensation fell 27% to $8.89 million in 2020, the company reported. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Gray reported that Howell’s salary rose slightly to $1.23 million, but he received small stock awards and non-equity incentive plan compensation. President and co-CEO Pat LaPlatney’s compensation rose 8% to $4.13 million.

Dish Network Chairman Charlie Ergen, long one of the lowest paid CEOs in the media industry, broke that mold Friday after the satellite giant revealed the executive received his biggest payday yet, $94.8 million, fueled mainly by one-time stock options, according to its annual proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Charter Communications Chairman and CEO Thomas Rutledge’s compensation at the U.S. cable and Internet giant rose sharply from $8.74 million in 2019 due to option awards figuring in his overall pay package.

Jason Kilar, who has served as CEO of WarnerMedia since May 2020, has a compensation package worth about $17 million per year in cash and stock, according to a regulatory filing. Kilar’s base annual salary is $2.5 million, plus $2.5 million in short-term target bonus and $12 million in vested stock grants per year, according to AT&T’s proxy filing Thursday. The exec’s total realized compensation in 2020 was $2.92 million.

Disney disclosed the total compensation for its top executives in a year that saw the company hit hard by the pandemic right after Bob Chapek took over as CEO.