The veteran media mogul also said an issue with CNN is its employees “express their opinions too much in their news” adding that Zaslav had been “unable to have any meaningful impact” in fixing it.
Malone, Zaslav’s longtime mentor, told the publication that he recently advised the WBD boss on a new contract that would maximize his potential for generating long-term wealth but also dampen down public criticism that surrounded previous pay deals by keeping the headline figure of the package “skinny.
”that Zaslav received a 2024 compensation package worth $51.9 million, compared with $49.7 million in 2023 and $39.3 million in 2022 when the Discovery-WarnerMedia merger closed. However, in June, WBD shareholders“It doesn’t look like it’s all that generous, but in reality, it’s your path to meaningful wealth,” Malone opined to theabout Zaslav’s new pay deal. The restructure of Zaslav’s compensation package is now based on the performance of the company’s stock, which Malone believes will encourage Zaslav “to think like a shareholder,” per thenewspaper also noted that a spokesman for Malone later told the publication that he was not on the compensation committee of WBD and had no role in deciding Zaslav’s compensation.)to better “incentivize his critical contributions.” The changes to Zaslav’s pay structure partly “address stockholder feedback and preferences with respect to CEO compensation structure,” WBD said in an 8-K filing in June. Zaslav’s base salary will remain $3 million, but following the split, his target annual cash bonus opportunity will be reduced to $6 million . Zaslav’s equity awards will have a target value of $15.5 million in year one; the target will be reduced to $7.5 million for the following years. In the interview, Malone revealed that he texts Zaslav daily and also advised the executive on WBD’s rights negotiations with the NBA, counseling his protégé to not spend billions. In summer 2024, WBD’s TNT Sports ultimately lost the rights to the NBA after holding them for 35 years. Elsewhere in the interview, Malone spoke on CNN, having written in his memoir that the network is “a shadow of what its founder had envisioned” and an issue with its network’s employees is that they “express their opinions too much in their news” adding that Zaslav had been “unable to have any meaningful impact” in fixing it. “They can’t help themselves,” Malone said. “And so what you’ve got is a left-leaning, anti-Trump news service.” Malone noted that the network’s next plan will be a paid subscription service, in which viewers can stream hours of CNN video without a cable subscription. , releasing Sept. 2 by Simon & Schuster, he “shares stories from behind the scenes of the most transformative deals in media, entertainment, and technology” and “offers an insider’s account of launching television’s first cable networks—including Discovery, TBS, QVC, and BET—and the strategy behind era-defining mergers, from Warner Bros. Discovery to Live Nation Entertainment.”, Malone reflected on his friendly rivalries with Reed Hastings, Rupert Murdoch and Ted Turner and how he built a sprawling empire while living with autism.Inside Opening Night of ‘Wizard of Oz’ at the Sphere: “We’re Finally Off to See the Wizard”This Labor Day Deal Gets You Hisense’s Sleek 4K CanvasTV at Black Friday-Like Pricing — And Free Deluxe Unpacking Service. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. // This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the GoogleThe Hollywood Reporter is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2025 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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