David Zaslav's pay rises to $52 million, despite rocky year for Warner Bros. Discovery

Warner Bros. Discovery struggled passim 2024, but determination were fewer headwinds for Chief Executive David Zaslav’s wage package, which accrued to astir $52 million.

The lofty compensation program — which swelled 4% from the erstwhile twelvemonth — maintains Zaslav’s lasting arsenic 1 of the astir handsomely paid executives successful America, up of his Hollywood counterparts. Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Bob Iger, who runs a overmuch larger enterprise, was paid $41 cardinal past year.

Warner Bros. Discovery released its yearly proxy connection Friday, revealing large changes coming to its board. In a striking move, Zaslav’s mentor — the cablegram tv pioneer John Malone — announced plans to measurement down arsenic a voting member. Zaslav has worked for Malone for astir 20 years and Malone has been highly influential.

Malone volition enactment connected successful a recently created presumption of Chair Emeritus.

The 84-year-old billionaire volition be Warner Bros. Discovery‘s committee meetings and “provide strategical counsel and enactment to the committee and absorption team,” according to a statement. The alteration volition instrumentality effect with the committee elections successful June, arsenic portion of the company’s yearly gathering of shareholders.

John C. Malone, president of Liberty Media and CEO of Discovery Holding Company, attends the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference successful Sun Valley, Idaho, Thursday, July 12, 2012.

(Paul Sakuma / AP)

Warner Bros. Discovery has attracted involvement from activistic shareholders arsenic the company’s banal languishes. Shares sank past outpouring erstwhile investors sensed that Warner Bros. Discovery would springiness up the rights to the National Basketball Assn. for its TNT channel.

The company, which has dozens of cablegram channels, has been punished amid Wall Street’s designation of the diminishing prospects for that erstwhile hugely profitable business. Last summer, the institution took a $9 cardinal write-down to bespeak the little worth of those basal cablegram channels.

The banal is down 55% since the smaller cablegram transmission company, Discovery, tally by Zaslav and Malone, swallowed the overmuch larger WarnerMedia, which includes HBO, CNN, TBS and the prolific Burbank studios. The banal was punished again this period amid marketplace turmoil implicit President Trump’s tariffs.

The banal was trading Friday astir $7.80 a share.

Following the June stockholders meeting, 3 caller directors volition person seats successful the boardroom. Earlier this year, Anthony Noto and Joey Levin were appointed to the board. This week, the institution announced that Anton Levy would besides join.

Earlier, the institution had announced the Warner Bros. Discovery committee would summation to 14 committee directors with the summation of Levy. Now, with Malone’s determination this week to not basal for reelection, the institution said the committee would stay astatine 13 members.

Malone’s “decision not to basal for re-election was not the effect of immoderate disagreement with the institution connected immoderate substance relating to the company’s operation, policies oregon practices,” the institution said successful a regulatory filing.

“It has been a privilege to service connected the Warner Bros. Discovery Board and enactment alongside David and his exceptional squad to assistance usher the institution done an industry-defining merger and its ongoing transformation,” Malone said successful a statement.

Zaslav besides gave props to his boss.

“John possesses 1 of the astir superb strategical minds our manufacture has ever known,” Zaslav said successful a statement.

Unlike galore different media executives, Zaslav’s compensation bundle is not wholly tied to institution performance. He received $3 cardinal basal salary, astir $24 cardinal successful currency incentives, $23 cardinal successful banal awards and $2 cardinal successful different compensation, according to the proxy.

Chief Financial Officer Gunnar Wiedenfels received $17 cardinal successful compensation, astir level from the erstwhile year. Chief Revenue and Strategy Officer Bruce L. Campbell garnered $19.8 million, up 8% from 2023.