Tag Archives: david zaslav

Warner Bros. Discovery’s Shareholders Approve of Paramount’s Takeover but Reject David Zaslav’s Pay Package

Posted on by Leave a comment
Warner Bros.

As expected, shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery have given the green light for Paramount‘s $110 billion deal to purchase the company. Around 99% of the shares voted in favor of the deal.

But, those same shareholders rejected the compensation package for WBD CEO David Zaslav. A reported 82% of shareholders voted against the package with just 17% voting for it. That vote is non-binding though.

The vote doesn’t guarantee the merger will go through. It still needs to get approval from the United States federal government, which will likely go through with few issues. But, there’s a possibility European regulators could step in, Canadian officials have spoken up about the deal, and multiple US attorneys general seem to be organizing to oppose the deal.

There’s also growing opposition within the industry with more than 4,000 individuals who work in Hollywood signing a letter opposing the deal, numerous unions, and more including Democrats in Washington.

You can learn more about the deal and weird connections between the powerful and Trump administration in the second episode of Comic Shoot.

David Zaslav is Poised to Make Bank with Warner Bros.’s Sale

Posted on by
Warner Bros.

There’s a long time to go before things are settled with Warner Bros. Discovery. Netflix has made an offer to purchase the company. Paramount has made a counter offer, which was rejected by the board, leading to talks of a more hostile direction. Then there’s all of the government hurdles that’ll need to be passed for the deal to be approved.

Steering the company through it all, and since 2022, is David Zaslav. Zaslav has drawn ire from numerous corners of the internet for decisions the company has made under his leadership, such as shelving multiple high profile films.

But, under Zaslav, the company has seen its “value” increase. At one point earlier in the year, the company was trading below $10 a share. Netflix has offered $27.75 per share while Paramount has offered $30.

And Zaslav will make bank if a deal goes through. He will received $30 million in “golden parachute” compensation as well as $537 million in equity, for a total of $567 million in transaction-associated pay.

He isn’t the only one who stands to cash in.

Gunnar Wiedenfels, the current CFO and soon-to-be CEO of Discovery Global, will receive $5 million in cash and $138 million in equity. Chief revenue officer Bruce Campbell stands to net $17.6 million in cash and $120 million in equity, streaming chief JB Perrette will get $17.1 million in cash and $150 million in equity, while international chief Gerhard Zeiler will gain $11.3 million in cash and $83.9 million in equity.

A bidding war, a possibility, would increase the stock value and benefit those individuals even more.

It is reported that Paramount offered Zaslav “hundreds of millions of dollars” in their deal where he’d be co-CEO. Zaslav reported the offer to the Warner Bros. Discovery board saying it wasn’t appropriate.

This is all on top of their normal compensation. Zaslav earned $51.9 million last year, Weidenfels earned $17 million, Campbell was $19.7 million, Perrette was $19.7 million, and Zeiler made $14.8 million, according to filings.

Warner Bros. Discovery Splits Into Two Impacting DC Comics and DC Studios

Posted on by
Warner Bros. Discovery

It wasn’t that long ago that Warner Bros. and Discovery merged created a weird blob of a company that never quite seemed to get its act together. And now, the mega company is splitting into two companies again with the streaming and studios being one company and the TV and cable assets being another with all of this expected to wrap up in 2026.

Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, DC Studios, HBO, and HBO Max, plus respective film and television libraries will be under a new “Streaming and Studios” company headed by current WBD CEO David Zaslav. “Global Networks” will be entertainment, sports, news television brands like CNN, Bleacher Report, TNT Sports, and more with WBD CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels as President and CEO of the Global Networks. The Global Networks will receive a 20% stake in the Streaming and Studios spinoff. The branding of the two is unknown though guesses are “Warner Bros.” and “Discovery.” The two companies will be independently-operated and publicly-traded.

Though it has not been named specifically, it’s believed that DC Comics will go to the “Streaming and Studios” company joining DC Studios. Zaslav in an investment call said there was a ten-year plan for DC (though it did not specify if that was for the movies, comics, or both).

The belief is the split is meant to deal with losses and debt of the current company which stands at about $37 billion. It will take out a $17.5 billion short-term loan to buy back some of that debt. The majority of the debt will fall under the Global Networks. The 2022 merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc. created more than $50 billion in debt.

The move follows other similar moves like Comcast spinning off most of NBCUniversal cable networks into a separate company called Versant and Lions Gate Entertainment separating Starz cable network from its film and television studio in May.

Last week, about 59% of WBD shareholders voted against executive pay packages in a symbolic criticism of the company’s leadership.

The spin-offs are believed to be a move for consolidation down the road (it was just two years ago there were rumors of Warner Bros. Discovery merging with Paramount). Others have said that moves like this are “paper solutions” to make it look like things are being done but don’t really resolve issues with the current entertainment environment like fracturing viewership and the mounting subscription services.

Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global in talks for a merger?

Posted on by
Warner Bros. Discovery

Lots of chatter online today that Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global are discussing a merger. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav met with Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish on Tuesday in New York City. Discussed was the two companies joining forces.

Warner Bros. Discovery is the larger of the two companies so it’s unclear what the deal would include, but could be the purchase of Paramount Global from its parent company National Amusements Inc. or WBD purchasing National Amusements Inc.

The deal isn’t as insane as it sounds. The combination would allow the two companies to merge their streaming services to better compete with Netflix and Disney+. CBS News combined with CNN would create a news powerhouse as both are struggling to find their voice in the current market. CBS and Turner Sports both currently share the rights to March Madness. There’s also programming from each company that would have synergy with the other’s channels. It’d also give Warner Bros. Discovery access to a broadcast network which it currently does not have.

Rumors of Paramount’s sale has been going on for quite some time but the latest would be an intriguing one especially since it hasn’t been long since Warner Bros. and Discovery merged with mixed results.

(via Axios)

Around the Tubes

Posted on by
Hunt for the Skinwalker #1

It’s a new week! We’ve got a lot coming at you after a busy weekend at Baltimore Comic Con and SPX! We’ll kick it off with some comic news and reviews you might have missed!

CBR – Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav Vows To Fight To End the Hollywood Strikes – When it looks like you’re about to lose a lot of money, of course you are.

How to Love Comics – What Are Marvel Epic Collections And Are They Good For New Readers? – If you’ve ever wondered.

ICv2 – ‘March’ Artist Nate Powell to Adapt ‘Lies My Teacher Told Me’ – Nice!

Smash Pages – ‘Zippy the Pinhead’ creator Bill Griffith wins the Reuben Award – Congrats!

The Beat – A Year of Free Comics: STAR TREK: THE ANIMATED CELEBRATION PRESENTS THE SCHEIMER BARRIER goes beyond the farthest star – Free comics!

Reviews

Collected Editions – Gotham Academy: Maps of Mystery #1
CBR – Hunt for the Skinwalker #1
The Beat – Xogenasys Vol. 1

Reports state Dan Lin is in talks to oversee DC films and television

Posted on by
DC Comics logo

With new leadership at Warner Bros. Discovery, a mission to find someone to be the “Kevin Feige” for DC’s film and television is on. Reports have come out the Dan Lin is the person who is currently in talks for the role.

Dan Lin has been involved with movies like The Departed, Sherlock Holmes, The Lego Movie, The Lego Batman Movie, Aladdin, IT, and more.

The role would oversee film and television and Lin would report directly to the Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav. Lin has experience with both.

With the move, current head of DC Films Walter Hamada would transition out of the role. Some reports have stated there’s been no negotiations with Lin while others have stated that salary and more is being discussed.

Emma Watts, Amy Pascal, Matt Tolmach, Sean Bailey and Greg Berlanti have all been names that have come up as possible for the position.

Lin oversaw the George Miller Justice League film that was derailed due to the 2007-08 Writers Guild of America strike as well as tax credit complications.

Zalslav has stated he wanted to reshaped DC with a 10-year plan that would focus the film and television releases.

Zaslav has come under criticism for ending projects or stopping their releases as he has taken over. Batgirl has been shelved and won’t see release instead its production will be used as a write off. Numerous television projects and movies have not been renewed or canceled leading to an uproar online.

David Zaslav’s donations paint a very different political picture

Posted on by

In the last 48 hours Warner Bros. Discovery’s CEO David Zaslav has been painted as a villain. With the cancellation of Batgirl and Scoob sequel, as reports of lack of diversity at Discovery under his leadership, Zaslav is being depicted as a right-wing stooge.

Zaslav himself hasn’t helped matters stating that CNN would feature more right-wing viewpoints planting a flag for the center but what can readily available data tell us about the executive.

While we don’t know his political party identification right now, we can look up Zaslav’s donations to candidates and PACs. That tells us a very different story than what’s come out in the media.

11 contributions have been made in 2021 and 2022 by David Zaslav to very few. In total $48,200 has been contributed to 11 entities total.

  • NCTA – THE INTERNET & TELEVISION ASSOCIATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (NCTAPAC) – $10,000
  • DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS, LLC PAC – $5,000
  • JOBS, EDUCATION, & FAMILIES FIRST JEFF PAC – $5,000
  • JEFFRIES VICTORY FUND – $10,800
  • FRIENDS OF SCHUMER – $5,800
  • JEFFRIES FOR CONGRESS – $5,800
  • ZIMMERMAN FOR CONGRESS – $5,800

That’s only three politicians donated to and all are Democrats.

Robert Zimmerman, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, and Sen. Chuck Schumer. The PAC and Victory fund are also Jeffries’. Zaslav is listed as living in New York and all three are politicians from New York. Zimmerman is running to be elected, Jeffries doesn’t seem to sit on any relevant committees, and… it’s Schumer. These don’t come off as donations involving “business” but might be people Zaslav actually supports. I’d lean Zaslav’s politics aren’t right-wing based on this, he’s just an out of touch suit.

If nothing else, it’ll be interesting to see if the list of donations grows and who might benefit.

AT&T Announces $43 billion deal Merging WarnerMedia with Discovery

Posted on by
WarnerMedia

AT&T has been struggling with what to do with WarnerMedia after its acquisition of Time Warner about three years ago. The tech company had purchased the content company during the rush for tech companies to deliver exclusive content and entice subscribers to their services like cellular coverage. That trend fizzled as quickly as it started and WarnerMedia has been generally rudderless with directions that seemed to change every few months.

Today brings news that AT&T that it is creating a new media company with Discovery to manage WarnerMedia.

AT&T will unwind its $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner. AT&T will receive an amount of $43 billion a combination of cash, debt, and WarnerMedia’s retention of certain debt. AT&T shareholders will receive stock for 71% of the new company and Discovery shareholders will own 29%. Discovery President and CEO David Zaslav will lead the new company. The board will have 13 members, seven initially from AT&T and six from Discovery, including Zaslav.

The deal is expected to close in the middle of 2022 but still needs to be approved by regulators.

Discovery has been making moves through acquisition and consolidating its organization. The company acquired Scripps in 2017 which included HGTV and Travel Channel in a $14.6 billion deal. The company has done well pushing its non-scripted entertainment. With their own app, the company has 15 million paying subscribers. HBO and HBO Max have about 64 million subscribers. Discovery’s control of WarnerMedia would give the company a boost in scripted entertainment and a natural extension of their brand.