Discovery CEO David Zaslav Gets a $4.4 Million Bonus

By Jon Lafayette
( Broadcasting & Cable )
last updated

Exec received 'only' $37.7 million in compensation for 2020

Discovery president and CEO David Zaslav during Discovery, Inc.'s Summer 2019 TCA Tour at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on July 25, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California.
(Image credit: Amanda Edwards/Getty Images for Discovery)

Discovery CEO David Zaslav was given a $4.4 million bonus by the company’s board of directors, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Zaslav, one of the highest paid executives in America, received $37.7 million in total compensation for 2020, down 18% from his pay in 2019.

According to the filing, the one-time bonus was granted in recognition of Zaslav’s leadership through the pandemic, the launch of the Discovery Plus streaming service and his work initiating, negotiating and entering into the transaction with AT&T that will combine Discovery with WarnerMedia.

The board noted that Discovery executives other than Zaslav received additional bonuses during 2021. ■

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.