David Zaslav
After becoming CEO and president of Discovery, Inc. in 2006, Zaslav oversaw changes in its channels, which largely shifted from education-oriented programming to reality television. In April 2022, Zaslav oversaw the merger of Discovery and WarnerMedia into Warner Bros. Discovery, and later the re-naming of the streaming service HBO Max into Max.
Early life
David Zaslav was born into a Jewish family in New York City's Brooklyn borough on January 15, 1960. His family was part of the diaspora from Poland and Ukraine. At the age of eight, he moved with his family to Ramapo, New York, where he graduated from Ramapo High School. He earned a B.S. from Binghamton University, then graduated with honors from the Boston University School of Law with a J.D. in 1985. He started his career as an attorney with LeBoeuf, Lamb, Lieby and MacRae in New York.
Career
NBCUniversal
Zaslav joined NBC in 1989. As president of Cable and Domestic TV and New Media Distribution, he oversaw content distribution to all forms of TV, negotiated for cable and satellite carriage of NBCUniversal networks and forged media partnerships.
His responsibilities extended to Bravo, CNBC World, SCI FI, ShopNBC, Sleuth, Telemundo, Telemundo Puerto Rico, mun2, Trio, Universal HD, USA Network, NBC Weather Plus and the Olympics on cable.
Zaslav also oversaw NBCUniversal's interests in A&E, The History Channel, The Biography Channel, National Geographic International, the Sundance Channel and TiVo.
Discovery
Zaslav became CEO of Discovery Communications in November 16, 2006, succeeding Judith McHale. Zaslav instigated a shift in strategy by the company, aiming to see itself as a "content company" rather than a "cable company" by bolstering its main networks (such as its namesake Discovery Channel) as multi-platform brands. As CEO, Zaslav oversaw the development and launch of new networks such as Planet Green (later rebranded as Destination America), The Hub, Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), Velocity, and Investigation Discovery, as well as the company's 2018 acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive, expansion of its digital education operations, and current emphasis on streaming services.
Under his leadership, Discovery began trading as a public company in 2008, became a Fortune 500 company in 2014 and acquired Scripps Networks Interactive in 2018.
Warner Bros. Discovery
In May 2021, it was announced that Zaslav would serve as CEO of a proposed merger of Discovery with a spin-out of AT&T's WarnerMedia, succeeding Jason Kilar. Zaslav's executive compensation package includes an annual salary of $3 million with an annual $22 million bonus. In his contract extension, Zaslav also received stock options valued at $190 million.
Since August 2022, Zaslav received heavy criticism for his decision to heavily shrink down the content library on the streaming service HBO Max, by avoiding residual payments to be used as tax write-offs. The total accounted loss was nearly $25 billion off the company's market cap. Some of those projects were "practically finished" or in the late stages of post-production, including Batgirl, Scoob! Holiday Haunt and Coyote vs. Acme. Zaslav also received backlash for the removal of many of Warner Bros' animated programs from streaming platforms and pulling some of the service's content in general, including Final Space (which was written-off for taxes), Tig n' Seek, Elliott from Earth, Infinity Train, Summer Camp Island, The Fungies!, Close Enough, The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo and nearly 200 episodes of Sesame Street, among others, a decision Infinity Train creator Owen Dennis remarked rendered many of the programs effectively as "lost media".
As head of Warner Bros. Discovery, Zaslav appointed Chris Licht as CEO of CNN in 2022 and received criticism for not interviewing internal candidates. With Zaslav's support, Licht implemented changes at CNN that sought to make the channel more palatable to American conservatives. Zaslav fired Licht in June 2023.
In 2023, Zaslav oversaw cuts to Turner Classic Movies (TCM), known for its contributions to film preservation. In June 2023, filmmakers Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson met with Zaslav to receive assurances that TCM would be protected.
During the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, David Zaslav said that Warner Bros. Discovery and other Hollywood studios were "not glad" that the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes had occurred and that the company was working to resolve the strike and compensate writers and actors fairly. According to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA, the demands of their workers would cost WBD an estimated $47 million. In September 2023, WBD estimated that the strike caused losses of $300 million–$500 million for the company.
In December 2023, Zaslav and Bob Bakish discussed the possibility of Warner Bros. Discovery merging with Paramount Global. TD Cowen analyst, Doug Creutz, told The Hollywood Reporter: "We have a very hard time believing the current FTC/DOJ, which has been very aggressive in combating industry consolidation, would give this deal a pass." However, in February 2024, the discussion was abandoned.
In February 2024, a group of US congressmen sent a letter to Zaslav criticizing World's Ultimate Frontier, a joint production between Discovery and Chinese state media outlet China Global Television Network (CGTN), for "whitewashing genocide" of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang. They called on Discovery to "suspend this partnership with CGTN immediately and to abstain from entering into any similar partnership with any other agent of CCP influence."
Boards and other activities
Zaslav serves on the boards of Sirius XM, The Cable Center, Center for Communication, Grupo Televisa, Partnership for New York City, Syracuse University and USC Shoah Foundation. He also is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Paley Center for Media and the Mt. Sinai Medical Center. He is chair of the Auschwitz: The Past Is Present Committee which promotes awareness of the Holocaust. In 2012, he received the Steven J. Ross Humanitarian Award from the United Jewish Appeal Federation (UJA) of New York which honors people of vision, energy and sustained achievement in the entertainment, media and communications industries.
In 2014, Zaslav was awarded the Fred Dressler Leadership Award by Syracuse University's S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.
David Zaslav was awarded the Susan Newhouse & SI Newhouse Award of Hope for his support of the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD) in September 2016.
In 2017, Zaslav was inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame.
In 2022, he was named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People.
Personal life
Zaslav lives in New York City with his wife Pam and their three children. His daughter, Ali, is a congressional producer with CNN.
During the 2020 election cycle, Zaslav donated over $240,000 to Democratic politicians and PACs, as well as $5,600 to Republican senator Jim Risch.