Dow Climbs 211, Nasdaq Falls 319, S&P Drops 44
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 for co-CEO Ted Sarandos.
Automotive year-to-date estimated national TV spending is down 9.1% year-over-year after falling another 1.9% in March. Household TV ad impressions of automotive ads is also down 11.4% in March and 9.4% year-over-year, according to iSpot.tv. National TV spending in March by automakers was $214 million compared to $218.2 million last March. Year-to-date estimated national TV spending was $699.1 million compared to $769 million for the same period in 2023.
All of the nominations are in for the 51st annual Daytime Emmy Awards, which will air live in June on CBS and Paramount+. The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences revealed noms in five key categories Thursday, and the rest rolled out this morning.
Change is afoot on another Dick Wolf series: Rick Eid is stepping down as showrunner of FBI but will remain an executive producer on the series. Eid has been the showrunner on FBI since its debut in 2018. The drama is currently in its sixth season and was renewed by CBS through 2027.
Apple said it removed WhatsApp and Threads from its China app offerings Friday on Beijing’s orders, amid technological tensions between the U.S. and China.
Michael Abramowitz, a former Washington Post journalist who is currently the president of the nonprofit Freedom House, is expected to start in the role this summer.
Rod Hissong Named News Director At WAND Decatur
‘Not Dead Yet’ Hits Season Lows, ‘Survivor’ Dominates Wednesday
The docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV posted Max’s best streaming numbers to date for its premiere week. The show, which streamed on Max concurrent with its on-air premiere on ID, had 1.25 billion minutes of viewing for the week of March 18-24. That’s the largest weekly total for any series on Max in the nearly four years of Nielsen’s streaming rankings, edging out the 1.19 billion for The Last of Us in early 2023.
How To (Actually) Change A TV Newsroom Culture
The company and Apollo Global Management are discussing a joint effort, even as Paramount conducts exclusive merger negotiations with Skydance.
Netflix Adds 9.3M Subscribers In Another Strong Quarter
Netflix added 9.3 million subscribers in the quarter ended March 31, reaching 269.6 million worldwide, and outperformed expectations in other key areas in its latest strong financial report. Revenue and earnings per share both handily exceeded Wall Street forecasts at $9.37 billion and $5.28, respectively. The top line was up 15% from the same quarter in 2023, while EPS came in at nearly double the year-ago period’s $2.88. In its quarterly letter to shareholders, Netflix said it planned to stop reporting subscriber totals and average revenue per subscriber starting with its first quarter results in 2025.