CEO David Zaslav has quickly put his stamp on Warner Bros. The merger between WarnerMedia and Discovery is reportedly set to be completed early in the spring. We've received your submission. and other data for a number of reasons, such as keeping FT Sites reliable and secure, Heidi Legg is the lead research fellow at the Future of Media Project at the Institute for Quantitative Social Science at Harvard University. In fact, Zaslavclaimed Discovery didn't have anything to do with Zucker's stunning exit, when he was bluntly asked on CNBC about the future of CNN, as well as remarks by Liberty Media chairman John Malone last year that he wanted CNN to revert to more traditional journalism. + David Zaslav, who led the merger with CNN and Discovery, donated over $240,000. Media tends to be a reflection of where the country is. CNN, like MSNBC, serves liberal audiences. After all, he intended to spend more time on it, and style is as important in tennis as it is in show business. Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. It is nearly impossible to know where the money is spent,even if you can run down the roster of donors. David Zaslav the CEO of Discovery Inc., and Bob Iger, the former CEO of Disney who is now the company's executive chairman, are among the top executive Democratic donors from the second quarter. And now, the former lawyer for Discovery founder John Hendricks is the new king of media, set to oversee $20 billion in content spend, topping Netflix's $17 billion. Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. David Zaslav, President and Chief Executive Officer of WBD, commented: With the major restructuring decisions behind us, this year we are focused on building and growing our businesses for the future, and were off to a great start. The development comes as the presumptive Democratic nominee has expanded his lead in the polls over President Donald Trump. Variety is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Media tends to be a reflection of where the country is. Spurred by the rapid proliferation of social media platforms, with questionable content,and a formerpresident who pummeled our free press repeatedly, its no wonder Americans are left wary and our information ecosystem is in shambles. The Bloomberg, Powell Jobsand even Murdoch setups are now bizarrely comforting: At least we know where they stand, and the money is domestic. See Barrs tweets at the bottom of this post. Those two tend to split viewers, and Fox News is regularly No. WBD President and CEO David Zaslav spent time with Abrams before the close of the merger earlier this year and is a fan. The parties within its walls were glitzy, the arguments were epic and the scandals provided perfect gossip fuel. Zaslav had a hand in the launch of MSNBC, another left-leaning network, during his time as an NBC executive. And even as Zaslav prepped the launch of streaming service Discovery+, which now has 15 million subscribers, he had thoughts about whether to suggest bundling Discovery with Disney, according to a person familiar with talks. There are just under 100 days until Election Day. Sen. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. But his new target list may include Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Reese Witherspoon or even the old Evans crowd like Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman. 1. He's known for sporting the sleeveless fleece vests popular with financial industry executives and for bringing swag bags to meetings. A Division of NBCUniversal. Susan Wojcicki, a major donor to Wikipedia and CEO of YouTube,donated only $8,000through Google Netpac. Sure, Henry Luce, the iconic publisher of Time, Fortuneand Life magazines, put his thumb on the scale. The Cook Political Report marks six Republican-held Senate seats in Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Montana and North Carolina as toss ups. The TV deal maker will head the new venture formed by his companys merger with AT&Ts WarnerMedia, as he seeks to build a streaming juggernaut. Holiday Haunt. Domestically, HBO Max and HBO have a combined 45.2 million subscribers. WebHome. And then were the leader in news to the left, Zaslav told CNBC on Friday. Discovery is required to publish the ratio to Zaslavs pay to those of its median employee as part of the Dodd-Frank law. [33], Under his leadership, Discovery began trading as a public company in 2008, became a Fortune 500 company in 2014 and acquired Scripps Networks Interactive in 2018. The names of the super PACs (Win Red, Dirt Road, Fair Fight, Follow the North Star, Security is Strength) are almost comical, even if the totals are gobsmacking. CNN, which has struggled to attract viewers during the Biden era,is part of the deal and many industry observers felt the decision to revert to more straight news began this week when Zucker was forced out. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. No surprise, Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan collectivelygave over $2.5 million, mostly to Republicans. Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy. Zaslav didnt clarify in response, and it immediatelywent viral on social media, where users pointed to it as an acknowledgement that CNN leans left politically. He was granted no options. [3][4][5] He previously served as the Chief Executive Officer and president of Discovery, Inc. beginning on November 16, 2006 and ending on April 8, 2022, when it was merged with WarnerMedia. The executive who is soon to take over CNN appeared to make a candid admission about where he sees the network. And John Malone, when you hear him, hes still a big part of your life, a big part of Discovery, if he said we need CNN to go back to reporting news". [51], In 2022, he was named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People. Overall, I think wed be better off if we just had news networks, but we dont.. With Democratic voters po- turnout to overcome any po- week, spent Monday and Tues- by the parties. David Michael Zaslav (born January 15, 1960) is an American media executive who currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Warner Bros. Oprah Winfrey is a great example of someone who the world wanted to do business with, but David had an incredible knack for making people want to work with him," said his former boss Tom Rogers, who was president of NBC Cable where Zaslav was head of distribution and new media. Farris Wilks, investor in the Daily Wire, gave $416,800 to Trump Victory and Club for Growth Action. "Sometimes it is difficult for his staff to keep up with his expectationsbut this is characteristic of a good leader who is on a mission," Discovery founder John Hendricks said of Zaslav. YOU'VE REACHED YOUR MONTHLY ARTICLE LIMIT. Lowe remains on Discovery's board and a personal friend, said a Zaslav friend. Discovery Chief Executive Officer David Zaslavs total compensation fell more than 17% in 2020, topping out at $37.7 million. ", Warner Bros. International Television Production, Warner Bros. Why would they go anywhere else? While Kernen did not clarify his comments, he went on to say that he sees sports as being on the right side of the Discovery portfolio. Discovery Chief David Zaslav 2020 Pay Drops to $37.7 Million. Signup for Breaking News Alerts & Newsletters. We now live in a much less transparent time. It's unclear which political direction Discovery CEO David Zaslav wants to take the network in. He's unsentimental and quick to rotate executives if they are not performing, though his key aides have been with him for years. 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AT&T Inc., agreed to merge its WarnerMedia division with Discovery Communications Inc., creating a streaming giant to compete with Walt Disney Co.'s Disney+ and Netflix. Listen to a portion New York (CNN Business)Discovery ( DISCA) CEO David Zaslav praised CNN on Friday and said "news is going to be really critical" to the future of the soon to be combined Warner Bros. Discovery, despite the sudden ouster of CNN boss Jeff Zucker earlier this week. The CEOs of some of the biggest companies in the United States have started ramping up their donations to Republican causes as concern grows about Joe Biden's plan to raise the corporate tax rate. Biden and the Democratic National Committee outraised their opponents in the second quarter. Before her recent spending spree, Catz had given very few political contributions this cycle. Discovery CEO David Zaslav praised CNN on Friday and said news is going to be really critical to the future of the soon to be combined Warner Bros. Safra Catz, the CEO of Oracle, gave $125,000 in May to the Trump Victory committee, a joint fundraising operation between the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee. Not long ago when he dropped by his new home he ordered some changes: Michael Smith, the celebrity designer who President Obama hired to design his private quarters at the White House, will now tackle the Evans house. Zaslav was speaking at the Paley International Council Summit when he made the remarks, which were covered by several news outlets virtually attending the media event. Zaslav's executive compensation package includes an annual salary of $3 million with an annual $22 million bonus. Zucker and Trump were friends in the 2000s as they teamed up on the wildly popular NBC reality show "The Apprentice," but they became bitter political enemies as Trump took over the Republican Party beginning in 2015 and romped to the White House. Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg fund swaths of lobbyists in Washington. The combined company, worth $120 billion in enterprise value, would unite Discovery with AT&T's WarnerMedia, home to CNN, HBO, and Warner Bros. A person familiar with the deal told Insider that AT&T didn't consider Comcast a viable partner because it was likely to be a slow-moving conversation, held up by thorny regulatory issues. But we dont. Barry Diller, owner of The Daily Beast and Investopedia, gave $120,000. David Michael Zaslav (born January 15, 1960)[1] is an American media executive who currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Warner Bros. Email him here: joed@mediaite.com Story tips can be sent tobrian.flood@fox.comand on Twitter: @briansflood. But times have changed. She has written extensively about the news media. [17] As president of Cable and Domestic TV and New Media Distribution, he oversaw content distribution to all forms of TV, negotiated for cable and satellite carriage of NBCUniversal networks and forged media partnerships.[18][19]. The lack of transparency in super PAC donations loomed as we scoured the FEC database. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, whose media giant is set to close itsmerger with CNNs owner WarnerMediathis spring, made the surprise remark during a discussion about the networks future days after theabrupt resignation of the networks president, Jeff Zucker. Loeffler is running for reelection to the Senate. This time, the bulk of Zaslavs compensation came from stock awards ($12.5 million) and non-equity incentive plan compensation ($21.8 million). Get our latest storiesin the feed of your favorite networks. Correction: Mediaite has learned Zaslav was referring to the left side of the Discovery portfolio, not the left side of the political aisle. Of the top 10 political donors among S&P 500 CEOs, a majority gave big to GOP groups in the second quarter, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics. The COVID-19 virus had accelerated cord-cutting that's causing cable TV channels to lose subscribers. Senator from Idaho Jim Risch, amounted to a total of $5,600. Definitely to the left, Kernen said. The Discovery-WarnerMedia merger is expected to close in mid-2022. Zaslav needs the house as badly as it needs Zaslav. Any changes made can be done at any time and will become effective at the end of the trial period, allowing you to retain full access for 4 weeks, even if you downgrade or cancel. David Zaslav has been enjoying a stock runup after Wall Street analysts expressed increased optimism about Warner Bros. In his contract extension, Zaslav also received stock options valued at $190 million, making him one of the highest-paid entertainment executives in the world. We support credit card, debit card and PayPal payments. His backers have praised him for keeping his average cost of content to about $400,000 an hour while his rivals now spend $5 million and more. Zaslav is also one of the highest-paid CEOs in media history. USA TODAY's opinionnewsletter:Get the best insights and analysis delivered to your inbox. A Discovery spokesperson told the Post that Zaslav didnt finish his thought, adding that he uses the phrase to organize his conversations around Discoverys business. Zaslav made a similar remark during an AT&T and Discovery joint news conference in May 2021, describing the left side of the joint company as everything other than the content. See an updated version of our story below. That bit of corporate sorcery has now prompted him to re-invent the Zaslav legacy indeed to re-shape it in the aura of the Evans legacy. All rights reserved. "Plus, David actually shows up. The company did not break out Discovery+ numbers specifically, so this tally includes its other, much smaller SVOD platforms, but the majority of that 20 million figure is made up of Discovery+ numbers, per Discovery. Same goes for Jason Kilars future, we presume. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. In an interview on CNBC Friday, Discovery CEO David Zaslav, as part of an assessment of his brands portfolio, took stock of CNNs place in the public consciousness and said this: CNBC host Joe Kernen immediately seized on the comment. Were running our business," Zaslav said. George Soros, a major donor to Wikipediawho funds many new digital media outlets through his Open Society Foundation (see our nonprofit U.S. Media Index), gave $3,679,800. His Facebook page is full of old school friendships and trips with the former GE CEO, Jack Welch. Zaslav, 61, his wife Pam, and his adult children, mingled with TV and movie industry friends, Page Six, CNBC and Fox News anchors, plastic surgeons, and interior designers. Using the original ownership index, we tracked the political donations at 90 of the top U.S. news organizations. Fifty years ago, Evans had to worry about filling seats in Westwood, not expanding the subscriber list in Belarus. Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, gave $500,000 mostly to Democrats. In September 2020, Zaslav confided to a close friend that he was concerned about the fate of the company he'd spent 15 years building. Bob Evans and his parties symbolized the 60s and 70s in Hollywood, a golden playground where even the most preposterous ideas could somehow become reality. Other top-paid Discovery executives included Chief Financial Officer Gunnar Wiedenfels, who earned $6.9 million in total compensation, down from the $7.4 million he earned in 2019. Over the years, Diana Ross, Rod Stewart, and Harry Connick Jr. performed for an A-List crowd that included Jamie Dimon, Oprah Winfrey, Ron Howard, and tennis star Boris Becker, to name a few. I probably shouldnt have said that.. A fiercely ambitious man with an appetite for the theatrical, Zaslav paid $16 million for the late Bob Evans home in Beverly Hills, originally telling friends he may spend three months a year in Hollywood, creating a livelier aura for his Discovery Channel. Mediaite regrets the error. or redistributed. AT&T CEO John Stankey, who oversees WarnerMedia, has been focused on the merger with Discovery, and is thought to be disinterested in any aspect of the CNN operation. And when asked about the future of cable, the former protector of the cable bundle acknowledged that the medium is declining, but believes it will still stick around a lot longer than people think.. That was down from the $45.8 million that Zaslav pulled in the previous year and significantly down from the massive $129.4 million in compensation that the Discovery chief earned in 2018, which included the value of stock options that amounted to more than $100 million as part of a new employment contract. 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