{"id":1560599,"date":"2025-06-18T11:48:35","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T15:48:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/observer.com\/?p=1560599"},"modified":"2025-06-18T12:22:16","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T16:22:16","slug":"david-zaslav-earnings-wbd-split","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/observer.com\/2025\/06\/david-zaslav-earnings-wbd-split\/","title":{"rendered":"David Zaslav Faces Pay Cut After Warner Bro. Discovery\u2019s Split\u2014But Remains a Top-Earning CEO"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_1560641\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1560641\" style=\"width: 970px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-1560641\" src=\"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-1498108297.jpg?quality=80&amp;w=970\" alt=\"David Zaslav in a striped suit and white shirt.\" width=\"970\" height=\"647\" srcset=\"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-1498108297.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-1498108297.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-1498108297.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-1498108297.jpg?resize=635,424 635w, https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-1498108297.jpg?resize=970,647 970w, https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-1498108297.jpg?resize=320,213 320w, https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-1498108297.jpg?resize=50,33 50w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 135px, 200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1560641\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">David Zaslav earned nearly $52 million last year as Warner Bro. Discovery&#8217;s CEO. <span class=\"media-credit\">FilmMagic<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Warner Bro. Discovery&#8217;s<a href=\"https:\/\/observer.com\/2025\/06\/warner-bros-discovery-split-streaming-cable-network\/\" data-lasso-id=\"2783613\"> split into two companies next year<\/a> will come at a personal cost for CEO David Zaslav. The media and entertainment giant on June 12 entered a new<span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> compensation agreement with Zaslav, which will lower the targets for his future bonuses and stock grants. The new pay plan responds to growing shareholder concerns over excessive executive compensation and reflects Hollywood&#8217;s broader shift toward performance-based pay.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWe structured the new compensation packages to address shareholders\u2019 feedback by fostering pay-for-performance alignment, ensuring industry-standard pay structures, and incentivizing contributions to position the two new leading media companies for success and shareholder value creation,\u201d WBD Chairman Samuel A. Di Piazza Jr. said in a statement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Next year, WBD will <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">split<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> into two publicly traded companies\u2014one focused on cable networks such as CNN, TNT Sports, and Discovery, and the other on streaming services and studios. Zaslav will lead the streaming and studios spinoff, which includes HBO Max, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, and DC Studios.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Zaslav is among the <a href=\"https:\/\/observer.com\/2023\/07\/how-much-do-the-media-ceos-fighting-the-strikes-make\/\" data-lasso-id=\"2783614\">highest-paid CEOs in Hollywood.<\/a> Since WBD was formed three years ago through the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery Inc., he has consistently earned top-tier compensation\u2014<span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/Archives\/edgar\/data\/1437107\/000143710718000071\/dzfinalagreement20181.htm\" data-lasso-id=\"2783628\">$51.9 million in 2024<\/a>, <\/span>$49.7 million in 2023 and $39.3 million in 2022\u2014even as the company\u2019s share price has declined by 60 percent since the merger.<\/p>\n<p>Zaslav&#8217;s\u00a0<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">$51.9 million earnings last year<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0included:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-start=\"856\" data-end=\"883\">$3 million in base salary<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"856\" data-end=\"883\">$23.9 million in bonus<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"913\" data-end=\"944\">$23.1 million in stock awards<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"947\" data-end=\"989\">$1.9 million in other benefits and perks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"991\" data-end=\"1050\">Under the new compensation plan, Zaslav\u2019s pay will include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-start=\"1054\" data-end=\"1081\">$3 million in base salary<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1054\" data-end=\"1081\">A target annual bonus of $6 million (with a maximum of $12 million)<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1156\" data-end=\"1261\">A target stock award of $15.5 million in the first year, decreasing to $7.5 million annually thereafter<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"1263\" data-end=\"1469\">He will also be eligible for a special multi-year stock option grant of up to 20.9 million shares of the newly formed company, with 40 percent vesting over time and the remaining 60 percent tied to specific stock price milestones.<\/p>\n<h3>Is Zaslav really taking a pay cut?<\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"82\" data-end=\"414\">Even with the lower bonus targets in his new compensation package, Zaslav could still match\u2014or even exceed\u2014his 2024 pay if certain conditions are met: he earns the full $12 million bonus, receives the entire $15.5 million stock award, and sees the value of the 20.9 million stock options tied to the post-split entertainment company soar.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"416\" data-end=\"653\">In a best-case scenario where Zaslav hits all performance milestones, those stock options alone could be worth tens of millions. According to The Wall Street Journal, they could<a target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/business\/media\/warner-chief-david-zaslav-will-take-a-pay-cut-after-company-split-6e65dfda?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" data-lasso-id=\"2783615\"> be worth as much as $150 million<\/a> if the goals are met.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"655\" data-end=\"841\">Call it a pay cut if you like, but Zaslav is still set to remain one of the highest-paid CEOs in the U.S. (For context, the median pay for S&amp;P 500 CEOs was around $17.1 million in 2024.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>David Zaslav\u2019s compensation will drop after WBD\u2019s split, but he could still earn tens of millions from a lucrative stock award plan.<\/p>\n <a class=\"moretag\" href=\"https:\/\/observer.com\/2025\/06\/david-zaslav-earnings-wbd-split\/\">Read More<\/a>","protected":false},"author":129757851,"featured_media":1560641,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"post_tag":[423842782,423808383],"company":[423975146],"channel":[186,11896,423868938],"location":[],"nyo_column":[],"person":[423997235,12333275],"nyo_post_hidden":[],"coauthor":[423996648],"class_list":{"0":"post-1560599","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"tag-executive-compensation","8":"tag-hollywood","9":"observer_company-warner-bros-discovery","10":"channel-business","11":"channel-wealth","12":"channel-media","13":"nyo_person-samuel-a-di-piazza-jr","14":"nyo_person-david-zaslav"},"acf":{"homepage_position":"","homepage_title":"","homepage_excerpt":"","alternative_og_image":"","headline":{"seo_headline":""},"subheadline":{"optimized_seo_description":"","optimized_social_excerpt":""}},"apple_news_notices":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/observer.com\/2025\/06\/david-zaslav-earnings-wbd-split\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":[],"rendered":"","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/observer.com\/p.js"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-1498108297.jpg?quality=80","coauthors_byline":"By Andy Meek","display_channel":"","thumbnail":"<img width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-1498108297.jpg?quality=80&amp;w=300&amp;h=225&amp;crop=1\" class=\"lazyload attachment-grid-thumbnail size-grid-thumbnail\" alt=\"David Zaslav in a striped suit and white shirt.\" decoding=\"async\" \/><noscript><img width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-1498108297.jpg?quality=80&amp;w=300&amp;h=225&amp;crop=1\" class=\"lazyload attachment-grid-thumbnail size-grid-thumbnail\" alt=\"David Zaslav in a striped suit and white shirt.\" decoding=\"async\" \/><\/noscript>","classes":["post-1560599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","tag-executive-compensation","tag-hollywood","observer_company-warner-bros-discovery","channel-business","channel-wealth","channel-media","nyo_person-samuel-a-di-piazza-jr","nyo_person-david-zaslav","entry-grid"],"parent_channels":"Business","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-1498108297.jpg?quality=80&#038;w=300&#038;h=225&#038;crop=1","thumbnail_url_2x":"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-1498108297.jpg?quality=80&#038;w=600&#038;h=450","excerpt_bare":"David Zaslav\u2019s compensation will drop after WBD\u2019s split, but he could still earn tens of millions from a lucrative stock award plan.\r\n","is_sponsored":false,"formatted_date":"Jun 18","read_time":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1560599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/129757851"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1560599"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1560599\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1560709,"href":"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1560599\/revisions\/1560709"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1560641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1560599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_tag?post=1560599"},{"taxonomy":"observer_company","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/company?post=1560599"},{"taxonomy":"channel","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/channel?post=1560599"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=1560599"},{"taxonomy":"nyo_column","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/nyo_column?post=1560599"},{"taxonomy":"nyo_person","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/person?post=1560599"},{"taxonomy":"nyo_post_hidden","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/nyo_post_hidden?post=1560599"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthor?post=1560599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}