CBS Chief Leslie Moonves collected nearly $70 million last year

"Two Broke Girls" and one rich CEO.

CBS Corp. Chief Executive Leslie Moonves catapulted to the top of the media pay ladder in 2011 with a compensation package valued at $69.9 million, according to documents filed Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The 62-year-old executive's package jumped about 21% over the $57.7 million that he reaped in 2010, which included a $27.5-million bonus.

“CBS significantly outpaced the industry in 2011 in terms of shareholder return," the media company said in a statement. "In fact, the company is the second best performing stock in the entire S&P 500 since March of 2009... The vast majority of this year’s pay is once again keyed to performance-based measures, closely aligning the overall value of the compensation with that of the company’s shareholders.”

CBS stock has been on a tear, soaring 42% last year. The stock closed Friday at $32.50 a share, an eye-popping increase over the $4 a share that it was trading for in 2009, following the market collapse. Investors have bid up the stock, in part, due to the anticipation that CBS will rake in hundreds of millions of dollars in political advertising dollars this year as candidates and political action committees try to influence the outcome of elections.

The company's assets include the CBS broadcast network, home to such hit shows as "Two Broke Girls," "NCIS" and "Survivor," local TV and radio stations and billboards. CBS also owns premium pay cable channel Showtime and Simon & Schuster publishing house.

Sumner Redstone, the executive chairman of CBS Corp., received compensation of $20.3 million in 2011. That means the 88-year-old mogul, who has been slowing down in recent years, collected more than $41 million in 2011 for his executive position at CBS Corp. and Viacom Inc. (Redstone received $21 million as executive chairman of Viacom).

Viacom Chief Executive Philippe Dauman made $43 million in 2011, considerably less than his 2010 package of $84.5 million.

Viacom and CBS traditionally lead the media pack because of the dual-stock structure of the two companies. Redstone controls nearly 80% of the voting stock, making it difficult for other shareholders to mount a successful protest over governance issues, including executive compensation.

Though not in the same stratosphere of Apple Inc.’s new chief executive, Tim Cook, whose compensation totaled $378 million in 2011, Moonves’ pay still is considerably higher than his peers in the media world. 

For example, Moonves received more than twice that of Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Robert Iger, who collected $31.4 million in fiscal 2011, and nearly three times the amount of Time Warner Chief Executive Jeffrey Bewkes, who took in $25.9 million.  Both Disney and Time Warner are much larger than CBS.

News Corp.’s Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch raked in $33.3 million in 2011 running his global empire.  Discovery Communications Chief Executive David Zaslav collected a package valued at $52.4 million last year.

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— Meg James

Photo: CBS Chief Executive Leslie Moonves. Credit: Peter Foley / Bloomberg

Discovery trading in environment for fast food

Discovery Communications has decided it's not easy being green.

The cable programming giant announced it is pulling the plug on Planet Green, its nearly 4-year-old low-rated cable network devoted to "green lifestyle programming." On May 28, which is Memorial Day, Planet Green will become Destination America, a channel that Discovery said will "celebrate the people, places, and stories of the United States, emblazoned with the grit and tenacity, honesty and work ethic, humor and adventurousness that characterize our nation."

Most of the shows on Planet Green -- including "World's Greenest Homes" and "Living with Ed," a reality show starring actor and environmental activist Ed Begley Jr. -- were aimed at "motivating individuals to take action when it comes to improving the environmental status of our planet," according to the network's website.

But Destination America -- which will launch in about 60 million homes -- is clearly going in a different direction. One of its new shows, "United States of Food," is described as a "celebration of America’s obsession with meat." Another, "Fast Food Mania," promises to "celebrate our favorite fast food treats and search for the most unusual fast food items and outposts."

“Discovery Communications continuously strives to break new ground with its unrivaled approach to storytelling that ignites viewers’ curiosity,” said David Zaslav, president and chief executive of Discovery Communications.

Other shows on Destination America include "Cheating Las Vegas," about "elaborate scams of modern casino gaming," and "Super-Duper Thrill Rides," which will tour the nation's amusement parks.

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-- Joe Flint

David Zaslav is Discovery's $52-million man

Discovery Communications Chief Executive David Zaslav might have had a rocky year in 2011 -- his joint ventures OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network and the small kids' network HUB stumbled badly -- but the struggles didn't affect his compensation.

Zaslav's 2011 pay package, which included salary, stock, options and other perks, was valued at $52.4 million -- more than 20% over the 2010 level of $42.6 million. 

The large package propels Zaslav into the upper stratosphere of media compensation, and makes him among the highest paid executives in the nation.

In comparison, Robert Iger, chief executive of the much larger Walt Disney Co., collected a $31.4-million package last year. Viacom Inc.'s Philippe Dauman last year received $43 million (considerably less than Dauman's 2010 compensation of $84.5 million). Time Warner Inc. Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes took a slight pay cut last year, collecting $25.9 million.

Zaslav's base salary was nearly $3 million.  His stock and option grants were valued at $44 million, according to the company's proxy filed late Friday.  Some of the options were allocated in 2008, when Discovery's stock was trading at below $20 a share.  On Monday, Discovery's shares traded around $51.

A Discovery spokesman said 90% of Zaslav's compensation was due to stock appreciation.

In the proxy filing, Discovery said it had a strong year financially, with revenue climbing 12% to $4.2 billion. Net income from continuing operations jumped 75% to $1.1 billion.

But there were setbacks. Wall Street analysts have been discounting the value of OWN. Some are questioning whether the company will write down the network's book value this year.

Discovery, which owns 50% of OWN, has invested more than $312 million in the channel. Winfrey owns the other 50%.

Winfrey on Monday conceded that OWN has been trickier than she had anticipated during an appearance on "CBS This Morning."

According to Discovery's filings, its other highly compensated executives included founder and Chairman John Hendricks, who received a package valued at $8.9 million; Chief Financial Officer Bradley E. Singer, whose compensation was valued at $4.2 million; and Mark G. Hollinger, president of Discovery Networks International, whose compensation topped $5.5 million.  Former Chief Operating Officer Peter Liguori, who left Discovery at the end of the  year, received $4.8 million.

Discovery declined further comment.

Oprah's success hasn't followed her to OWN

Oprah Winfrey acknowledges her OWN mistakes

OWN cable network to cut jobs, replace executives

-- Meg James  

 
Photo: Partners Oprah Winfrey and Discovery Communications Chief Executive David Zaslav toast their joint venture OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.  Credit: Robin Layton / OWN

 

Oprah Winfrey acknowledges her OWN mistakes

Oprah Winfrey said Monday that her cable channel, the Oprah Winfrey Network, has been a much tougher slog than she expected.

"Had I known it was this difficult, I might have done something else," Winfrey said during an appearance on "CBS This Morning" with Charlie Rose and Gayle King, who is Winfrey's best friend. 

"I didn't think it would be easy, but if I knew then what I know now, I might have made some different choices," Winfrey said.  "If I were writing a book about it, I could call it '101 Mistakes.' "

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Rose asked Winfrey to name five miscalculations. The top mistake, Winfrey said, was that OWN launched in Los Angeles in January 2011, well before the network was ready. At the time, she was consumed with wrapping up her hugely successful syndicated talk show in Chicago, which taped its finale last May.  Winfrey said she advocated for a small launch of the channel, without much press or promotion, but soon the publicity machine had kicked in and the expectations for the channel soared to lofty levels.

Discovery Communications Inc., which owns 50% of OWN, has spent more than $312 million to get the struggling channel off the ground. The channel has been averaging fewer than 300,000 people in prime-time, according to ratings agency Nielsen. 

"It was like having the wedding before you were ready, and walking down the aisle saying, oooh, should we really be doing this?" Winfrey said. 

"But the invitations were out," chimed in King, who ditched her daytime talk show on OWN last year for the much bigger platform of CBS News.  (Winfrey later in the interview said she was thrilled that King, who has been her friend for more than 25 years, was given the opportunity at CBS).

Winfrey said it was "Saturday Night Live" producer Lorne Michaels who told her that she "had no idea" what she was getting into, and that building a new channel would be difficult. Some people would be rooting for her to fail.

For the first time in many years, the press surrounding Winfrey has been decidedly negative. Co-host Rose said that was a departure from previous press coverage: "You've been so loved, such an icon, you could do no wrong." 

There have been days, Winfrey conceded, that she was ready to throw in the towel. She said she would have been happy to sit under a tree with her beloved dogs and read a book.  Those days were more frequent, she said, particularly in the last week as the bad press mounted. But Winfrey said that she is more encouraged by OWN's prospects and direction than she ever has been before. 

Television's former daytime queen was in New York to tape a live episode of "Oprah"s Lifeclass: The Tour" at Radio City Music Hall and, later in the week, for advertiser presentations. Unlike four years ago, Winfrey said doesn't expect to campaign heavily for the reelection of President Obama. Instead, she will be busy "trying to fix a network." 

"I'm a very driven person," Winfrey said. "I believe that I am here to fulfill a calling. That, because I am a female, who is African American, who has been so blessed in the world, there is never going to be a time to quit. I will die in the midst of doing what I love to do — that is, using my voice and using my life to try to inspire other people to live the best in theirs."

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Photo: Oprah Winfrey at a Discovery Channel gathering in 2011. Credit: AP Photo/OWN, George Burns

Big losses for Winfrey's OWN? Discovery refutes report

Things may get darker before they get brighter at OWN, the cable network launched by Oprah Winfrey and Discovery Communications.

Winfrey and Discovery -- the cable programming giant that is Winfrey’s sugar daddy on OWN and has already pumped over $300 million into the struggling start-up -- have in the last several days announced a round of layoffs, a new executive structure and the cancellation of the pricey and low-rated talk show starring Rosie O'Donnell.

Now a top media analyst casts more clouds on OWN.

In a report released Wednesday, analyst Derek Baine of influential consulting firm SNL Kagan projected that OWN could lose $142.9 million in 2012.

Baine's report comes just days after OWN canceled O'Donnell's talk show and announced it was cutting 20% of the network's staff.

"OWN's staff reduction and the cancellation of 'The Rosie Show' are clear signs that the network is struggling," Baine wrote, adding that reining in costs "will only do so much to keep Discovery Communications Inc. from pulling the plug on the network if ratings continue to remain low."

A top Discovery executive questioned the validity of Baine's report. 

"The report is riddled with inaccuracies and bad information," said Discovery Senior Executive Vice President David Leavy. "The venture is on more solid ground with more business momentum than ever before."

Leavy, who earlier this week told the Los Angeles Times that Discovery had no plans of bailing on OWN, reiterated that the company remains "confident in the future of OWN, and the long-term value creation we are building."

Discovery insiders note that the financial picture at the channel will improve next year when the bulk of cable and satellite operators start paying significant fees to carry OWN.

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Photo: Oprah Winfrey. Credit: Scott Olson / Getty Images

Layoffs and restructuring at Oprah Winfrey's beleaguered OWN channel

Weak ratings and a poor financial performance have led to layoffs and yet another executive restructuring at the Oprah Winfrey Network, the cable channel co-owned by Winfrey and Discovery Communications.

OWN, which last week finally canceled its high-profile Rosie O'Donnell talk show, said it was laying off 30 staffers and bringing in executives from Discovery Communications to oversee key operations.

The move comes as OWN continues to struggle to find its voice. Launched in January 2011, OWN has already cost Discovery more than $300 million. The channel's performance has been so weak that there has even been speculation, denied by insiders at the network's parent companies, that if the situation doesn't improve soon the plug could be pulled. 

"We're as committed now as we've ever been and are bullish about the long-term value we are building," Discovery Senior Executive Vice President David Leavy said Monday.

“It is difficult to make tough business decisions that affect people’s lives,” said OWN Chief Executive Winfrey in a statement. "The economics of a start-up cable network just don’t work with the cost structure that was in place," she said, adding, "to wholly achieve that long-term success, this was a necessary next step.” Winfrey was at OWN's Los Angeles headquarters Monday to address the staff about the changes.

As part of the restructuring, Discovery Communications will have more say in the business operations. Initially, Discovery had something of an arms-length policy when it came to OWN.

However, as the losses have piled up and the executive suite of OWN started to resemble a revolving door, Discovery decided it needed to step up and become more involved in the channel's operations.

"The cost structure was not sustainable; we had to right-size that," said Leavy.

In January, Discovery dispatched Rita Mullin, a longtime Discovery programmer, to help shore up programming at OWN. Now, as part of this restructuring, Neal Kirsch, Discovery's chief financial officer of its U.S. Metworks unit, will shift to OWN and become its chief operating officer and chief financial officer.

Discovery is also bringing in executives to oversee production and marketing for OWN.

The changes come just two weeks before OWN is scheduled to begin making its upfront programming presentations to advertisers in Chicago, New York and, later, Los Angeles.

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Photo: Oprah Winfrey at the Sun Valley conference in 2011. Credit: Julie Jacobson / Associated Press.

 

Discovery Channel to air all 7 episodes of 'Frozen Planet' series

Discovery Channel extricated itself from a political ice storm by announcing it would air all seven episodes of "Frozen Planet," a wildlife and natural history series co-produced with the BBC.

The program -- which explores life in the earth's polar regions and the environmental effects of rising temperatures -- will premiere March 18 and air on subsequent Sundays, Discovery said Tuesday. 

Four years in the making, the series was produced by the same documentary team behind the channel's critically acclaimed series "Planet Earth."  Discovery said the U.S. version of "Frozen Planet" will be narrated by actor Alec Baldwin.

"Frozen Planet" is currently running on the BBC in Britain and generating huge ratings. 

Controversy erupted last month when reports surfaced that Discovery was considering ditching the seventh episode of the series, which delves into the thorny issues of global warming. That episode, "Frozen Planet: On Thin Ice," includes on-camera shots of British naturalist Sir David Attenborough, who narrates the British version, discussing what shrinking glaciers and rising temperatures mean for people and wildlife that live in the region as well as the rest of the planet.

Activists launched an online petition urging Discovery Channel to run the entire series, including "On Thin Ice."  The channel is owned by Maryland-based Discovery Communications.

The ruckus surprised Discovery executives, who had not screened all of the episodes until last week.

"Up until today we had not made any programming or scheduling decisions, and today we made our announcement," said Katherine Nelson, Discovery Channel spokeswoman.

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Photo: Polar bears in the Discovery Channel series "Planet Earth." Credit: Terry Andrewartha / Discovery Channel and BBC

OWN Presidents Logan and Salata are in it for long haul

Given all the drama and hype surrounding OWN, it is sometimes hard to remember that the cable network launched by Oprah Winfrey and Discovery Communications has been on the air for just over 10 months.

"We are not even two minutes into the first quarter here," said Erik Logan, one of OWN's two new presidents, over coffee at the network's Los Angeles headquarters earlier this week. "It really is a smart thing to keep your head down," added Sheri Salata, OWN's other president.

Keeping its head down was not OWN's strategy when it launched Jan. 1. Of course, given whose name is on the channel, the idea of a low-key debut was probably a pipe dream anyway.

The story of OWN's first year has been fairly predictable so far. The channel got strong sampling from curious viewers lured by heavy hype when it premiered. A few weeks later, few had stuck around. There was turmoil behind the scenes as several of the shows tanked and Christina Norman was bounced as chief executive of the channel in early May.

Winfrey, who said she had been too focused on ending her daytime talk show to worry about how OWN was doing in its early months, assumed the role of chief executive in July and tapped Logan and Salata, who had been running Winfrey's Harpo Studios, to oversee the day-to-day operations of OWN.

Logan and Salata, who have worked together for just over three years, accept that, like it or not, OWN is being scrutinized far more than just any new cable channel.

"We knew that Oprah Winfrey starting a network would be watched closely; whether it's fair is for others to decide," Logan said. He and Winfrey have met with key advertisers including Procter & Gamble to assuage any concerns about the channel's performance.

One of the myriad challenges for OWN is Winfrey's desire to put on positive and inspiring programming in a cable world where it is often the trashiest that succeeds. Salata managed to pull that off when she was executive producing Winfrey’s daily show, but she acknowledged that being “on brand and proud and still wildly entertaining” 24/7 is a little trickier.

Furthermore, while trying to be empowering is a noble goal, viewers don't necessarily want to be preached to by their televisions.

"We can’t put a lectern up and turn on a camera,” said Salata.

TCA 2011: Oprah Winfrey is here, and in charge at OWN

Oprah Winfrey, the new chief executive of OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, wanted to make one thing perfectly clear:  She is in charge. 

Walking on stage Friday morning at the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Beverly Hills, Winfrey told a room full of writers that she gave herself the title of chief executive.  Winfrey stepped into the role earlier this month following the ouster of OWN's first chief executive, Christina Norman.

She and Discovery Communications Inc., her partner in the venture, wanted to hit the reboot button after the channel's bumpy start. They also wanted to give Winfrey the opportunity to populate the ranks with executives she felt comfortable with, those who had worked for her on her Chicago-based syndicated show.

It is her network after all.  Discovery Communications owns only 50%. 

"I'm here," Winfrey said Friday, noting that she was not relaxing on sugar-soft sandy beaches on some Caribbean isle. That big vacation she was going to enjoy after bringing her syndicated show in for a successful landing in May after 25 years on the air?  Well, it didn't happen.

Instead, she is going to work at her network located on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles.

"I'm in the office, and at home, listening to budget meetings, and marketing meetings and talking about how to strategize and make his network everything that we know that it can be to fulfill the potential of the vision," Winfrey said.  She introduced the latest two executives to join OWN from her company, Harpo, in Chicago: Sheri Salata and Erik Logan.  The pair are now presidents of OWN.

"My focus now is on getting to know and understand our viewers," Winfrey said. 

She announced the "Oprah Winfrey Show" library, all 4,561 episodes, would be repackaged and run weeknights at 8 p.m., beginning this fall, under the title "OWN Your Life (the Oprah class)."  

The idea, she said, came to her while she was standing at her kitchen window.

"This is a dream come true for me, having this platform," she said. "I want to embrace the idea of having the world's biggest classroom. Do that in a way that was not just throwing [my] shows up in the air.  We're going to take the 4,561 shows and use them as a teaching tool, repackaged and rehosted by myself in ways that we can teach people how to live their best lives."

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Photo: Oprah Winfrey speaks at the 2011 Summer Television Critics Assn. press pour in Beverly Hills. Credit: Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images.

Oprah Winfrey to take CEO post at OWN

Oprah Winfrey has decided that if you want to get the job done, you better do it yourself.

The former daytime talkshow queen has named herself chief executive and chief creative officer of OWN, the cable network she launched in partnership with Discovery Communications. The announcement was made early Wednesday morning.

The move comes just over two months after Christina Norman was forced out as CEO of OWN in a management shake-up. Norman, who exited only four months after the channel made its debut, was OWN's third head since its formation was announced in 2008.

“I am ready to dedicate my full creative energy and focus as the full-time CEO of OWN," Winfrey said in a statement.

Since Norman left, Peter Liguori, the chief operating officer of Discovery Communications and a former top executive at Fox Broadcasting, had been serving as interim CEO.

Also taking top positions at OWN are two of Winfrey's trusted lieutenants. Erik Logan and Sheri Salata, currently presidents of Harpo Studios, Winfrey's production company, will now serve as presidents of OWN.

“The announcement of Oprah, Erik and Sheri completes the plan for developing a strategic creative track and finding the right management team to execute on that plan going forward,” said Liguori.

Winfrey's channel, which went live in January, has struggled to build ratings despite hundreds of millions spent on programming and promotion. Winfrey recently has acknowledged that she was not as focused on OWN as she should have been because it was launched while her daytime talk show was wrapping up its final season.

-- Joe Flint

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Photo: Oprah Winfrey. Credit: Chris Pizzello / Associated Press.