Discovery Inc. CEO David Zaslav scored a sizable increase in his 2017 total compensation package, according to a new filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Zaslav’s 2017 compensation totaled about $42.2 million, up about $5 million from the $37.2 million earned in 2016. His base salary stayed the same at $3 million and his stock awards fell slightly from the $15.1 million he earned in 2016. But his option awards rose significantly, up from about $11.1 million to about $15.6 million.
Bruce Campbell, chief development, distribution and legal officer, also saw his total compensation increase, up from nearly $6.7 million in 2016 to nearly $7.8 million last year.
But Jean-Briac Perrette, president and CEO of Discovery Networks International, saw his total compensation fall from nearly $11.6 million in 2016 to about $8.2 million last year. Although his base salary rose, his stock awards declined.
Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels took home about $6 million in total compensation for 2017.
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The new executive compensation disclosures arrive in the same month that Discovery closed its $14.6 billion acquisition of Scripps Networks. The combined company is now known as Discovery Inc.
Zaslav will remain the chief executive, and Scripps’ former president, chairman and CEO, Kenneth Lowe, will join Discovery’s board of directors. Both Wiedenfels and Perrette will continue in their roles, along with several other Discovery executives.
“Today marks another critical milestone for Discovery, as we become a differentiated kind of media company with the most trusted portfolio of family-friendly brands around the globe,” said Zaslav in a statement. “As a new global leader in real-life entertainment, Discovery will serve loyal and passionate audiences around the world with content that inspires, informs and entertains across every screen; deliver new ways for advertisers and distributors to reach highly targeted audiences at scale; and leverage our leadership position to create new value and growth opportunities for all of our stakeholders.”