David Zaslav saw his total compensation package last year jump by more than $10 million to $49.7 million in 2023 — with Warner Bros. Discovery awarding him a base salary of $3 million, plus $23 million in stock awards, and non-equity incentive plan compensation (a cash bonus) of $22 million.

It’s the second rather princely CEO package in as many days in an industry known for them as Netflix yesterday unveiled a similarly sized package co-CEO Ted Sarandos.

Zaslav, however, has for years been the poster child of high CEO pay, with a hard to swallow 2021 package of nearly $247 million, swelled by $203 million worth of option awards. That number — and the others — were plastered on posters last spring as the writers guild’ labor talks got heated. CEO pay remained a rallying cry. It might again with a new set of labor talks underway and an overall contraction in the industry that’s causing pain above and below the line.

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