NEW YORK – CBS Corp. president and CEO Leslie Moonves received $57.7 million in total compensation last year, up 33.6% from the $43.2 million he made in 2009, according to a regulatory filing late Friday. That puts him in second place in terms of compensation of media and entertainment conglomerate CEOs.
Leading the pack is president and CEO Philippe Dauman of CBS Corp. corporate sibling Viacom, which recently reported a $84.5 million compensation package for Dauman. That amount was for the company’s latest fiscal year, which lasted only nine months and ended in September. The figure was driven by a $54 million one-time award for extending his employment agreement through 2016.
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Other CEOs of big media and entertainment companies have also seen higher compensation for 2010.
Moonves’ base salary was unchanged at $3.5 million, but his bonus increased from $15 million to $27.5 million.
The bonus consists of $20 million “for the successes in his role as president and chief executive officer of the company” plus and a special cash payment of $7.5 million “for his leadership in connection with the creation of premium content across the company’s portfolio of businesses, particularly with respect to the CBS Television Network, which outperformed its media peers in 2010,” the filing said.
It pointed to financial performance metrics in justifying compensation gains, including a 37% total return to shareholders, “a 220% increase in net income and 8% growth in revenue, all of which outpaced media peer companies.”
Moonves also saw the value of his stock and options awards rise slightly, according to the filing.
CBS chairman and controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone saw his 2010 compensation package rise f25.3% rom $16.2 million to $20.3 million, with his salary up from $1 million to $1.6 million and his bonus up from $7.5 million to $10 million.
At Viacom, the other company he controls, Redstone received compensation for a shortened nine-months fiscal year that ended in September valued at $15 million, slightly below the $16.9 million he had received for the full year 2009.
CBS in its regulatory filing Friday also said that at its annual meeting next month, shareholders will get to vote on the adoption, purely on an advisory basis, of a resolution that would let shareholders approve compensation of key executives. Other entertainment giants are also planning to decide on such resolutions or have already done so. CBS is suggesting a non-binding vote on executive compensation every three years.
