The nation's top publicly traded pay-TV companies have all reported their executive salaries to the Securities and Exchange Commission, and FierceCable has collected all the data in one place. Below are the salary and compensation rates of the top eight highest paid CEOs among publicly traded cable, satellite and IPTV service providers.
An awful lot has changed since our previous list published, and as a result, this year’s top eight list marks a fond farewell tour for some of the best paid CEOs in the pay-TV business.
After missing out on a humongous severance package when the Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger fell through, former TWC CEO Rob Marcus is cashing in this year as Charter was successful in its acquisitions of both TWC and Bright House Networks. In lieu of regulatory filings, reports can be used to peg Marcus’s total compensation at around $93 million.
Cablevision CEO James Dolan is also hitting the trail now that Altice USA has completed its acquisition of the New York cable MSO. He bids adieu while hauling in $24.6 million in 2015, up from $23.7 million in 2014. Sending away the well-compensated executive team at Cablevision was a first step in cost savings for Altice USA. By contrast, incoming Altice USA CEO Dexter Goei claimed total board remuneration of about $7.8 million.
In addition to the Charter-TWC-BHN deal and Altice’s recently closed acquisitions of Cablevision and Suddenlink, AT&T’s blockbuster DirecTV deal is not too far in the rearview mirror. After the closure of that deal, DirecTV CEO Michael White announced his plans to retire, leaving John Stankey, who took home more than $10 million in 2015, as the CEO of the AT&T Entertainment Group.
Still hanging around near the top of the list is Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, who took home $36.2 million in 2015, up from $32.96 million in 2014. But Roberts was topped by his own CFO, with Comcast’s Michael Cavanagh, who joined the company in 2015, bringing in a total compensation of $40.6 million.
Meanwhile, Dish Network CEO Charlie Ergen earned a relatively modest $1.3 million in 2015, down from the $1.7 million in total compensation he earned in 2014 and less than the $1.65 million in total compensation that Sling TV CEO Roger Lynch took home last year.
Check out the eight highest-paid executives below. The data comes from filings the companies have made to the SEC.
Don't forget to also check out a similar list from our sister publication FierceWireless.
8. AT&T Entertainment Group CEO John Stankey
Total compensation (2015): $10,040,810
Total compensation (2014): $10,190,163
Salary: $941,667
Other compensation (stock awards, etc.): $9,099,143
Duration with company: Since 2004
Total compensation (2015): $16,361,387
Total compensation (2014): $16,104,852
Salary: $2,000,000
Other compensation (stock awards, bonuses, etc.): $14,361,387
Duration with company: Since 2012
Total compensation (2015): $18,343,660
Total compensation (2014): $18,306,509
Salary: $1,661,538
Other compensation (stock awards, etc.): $16,682,122
Duration with company: Since 2000 (inception of Verizon Wireless)
5. Former Cablevision CEO James Dolan
Total compensation (2015): $24,574,453
Total compensation (2014): $23,702,403
Salary: $2,000,000
Other compensation (stock awards, bonuses, etc.): $22,574,453
Duration with company: Since 1979
4. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson
Total compensation (2015): $25,145,914
Total compensation (2014): $23,984,315
Salary: $1,741,667
Other compensation (stock awards, etc.): $23,404,247
Duration with company: Since 1982
Total compensation (2015): $36,248,269
Total compensation (2014): $32,961,056
Salary: $2,928,748
Other compensation (stock awards, bonuses, etc.): $33,319,521
Duration with company: Since 1981
2. Comcast CFO Michael Cavanagh
Total compensation (2015): $40,646,246
Salary: $1,800,000
Other compensation (stock awards, bonuses, etc.): $38,846,246
Duration with company: Since 2015
1. Former Time Warner Cable CEO Rob Marcus
Total compensation (2015): $92,300,000
Total compensation (2014): $34,615,597
Salary: $22,600,000
Other compensation (stock awards, bonuses, etc.): $69,700,000
Duration with company: Since 2005