It’s that time of year again when we sift through an avalanche of regulatory filings to find the highest-paid executives.
This year, we’ve split our list in two. FierceVideo’s list focuses on executives within the pay TV and streaming video industry, and FierceWireless’s list will focus on executives within telecom and wireless.
FierceVideo’s list this year was clearly impacted by recent M&A, particularly Disney’s $71.3 billion deal for a big chunk of 21st Century Fox’s business.
As always, some notable names didn’t crack the top 25. Dish Network CEO Erik Carlson (who made about $5.32 million in 2018), Charter CEO Tom Rutledge (who made about $8.15 million in 2018) and Roku CEO Anthony Wood (who made about $8.34 million in 2018) didn’t make the cut, and neither did key Disney executives like CFO Christine McCarthy and Kevin Mayer, chairman of Disney’s direct-to-consumer and international business.
Make sure to revisit the highest-paid executives lists from 2018 and 2017.
25. Dexter Goei, CEO, Altice USA
Total compensation (2018): $12,150,232
Total compensation (2017): $53,560,610
Salary: $630,769
Other compensation (stock awards, etc.): $11,519,463
24. Bruce Campbell, Chief Development, Distribution and Legal Officer, Discovery
Total compensation (2018): $12,344,995
Total compensation (2017): $7,756,622
Salary: $1,769,088
Other compensation (stock awards, etc.): $10,575,907
23. Tim Armstrong, Former CEO, Oath
Total compensation (2018): $12,488,942
Total compensation (2017): N/A
Salary: $1,193,750
Other compensation (stock awards, etc.): $11,295,192
22. K. Guru Gowrappan, CEO, Verizon Media Group
Total compensation (2018): $12,752,938
Total compensation (2017): N/A
Salary: $603,448
Other compensation (stock awards, etc.): $12,149,490
21. John Donovan, CEO, AT&T Communications
Total compensation (2018): $14,585,867
Total compensation (2017): $15,193,700
Salary: $1,175,000
Other compensation (stock awards, etc.): $13,410,867
20. David Watson, CEO, Comcast Cable
Total compensation (2018): $14,752,999
Total compensation (2017): $11,343,494
Salary: $1,538,914
Other compensation (stock awards, etc.): $13,214,085
19. Greg Peters, Chief Product Officer, Netflix
Total compensation (2018): $14,818,589
Total compensation (2017): $9,237,490
Salary: $6,000,000
Other compensation (stock awards, etc.): $8,818,589
18. John Stankey, CEO, WarnerMedia
Total compensation (2018): $16,552,905
Total compensation (2017): $10,094,583
Salary: $2,058,333
Other compensation (stock awards, etc.): $14,494,572
17. David Cohen, Senior Executive Vice President, Comcast
Total compensation (2018): $19,115,476
Total compensation (2017): $17,749,209
Salary: $1,565,133
Other compensation (stock awards, etc.): $17,550,343
16. Gerson Zweifach, General Counsel, Fox
Total compensation (2018): $19,393,587
Total compensation (2017): $7,909,604
Salary: $3,000,000
Other compensation (stock awards, etc.): $16,393,587