Ousted Paramount CEO Bob Bakish Received $69.3 Million in Severance

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In April 2024, Bob Bakish, who was previously the CEO of Paramount Global, was let go and was awarded a substantial exit package worth approximately $69.3 million in severance pay, often referred to as a “golden parachute”.

Information about Bob Bakish’s termination benefits were revealed in Paramount’s SEC filing submitted last Friday. In summary, Bakish’s earnings from Paramount for the year 2024 amounted to approximately $86.96 million, which was a significant increase from the previous year’s $31.3 million. His compensation breakdown shows a salary of around $2.61 million (up until his departure) and stock awards valued at $15.1 million, as stated in the filing.

After nearly three decades working at Paramount and a preceding company Viacom, Bakish was let go. This happened as the board of media conglomerate Paramount and its controlling shareholder Shari Redstone were in discussions to merge with Skydance Media, owned by David Ellison. On July 7, 2024, following several months of back-and-forth negotiations, the $8 billion agreement was finalized; however, it is yet to be approved by the FCC.

Following Bakish’s departure, Paramount created a trio of executive roles titled the “Office of the CEO”: George Cheeks, who serves as the president and CEO of CBS; Chris McCarthy, who holds the same positions at Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks; and Brian Robbins, who is the president and CEO of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon.

In 2024, the trio serving as co-CEOs at Paramount were each awarded a $6 million bonus due to their positions. Last autumn, it was stipulated in their employment contracts that they could resign with severance pay if they were subsequently demoted. Additionally, each of them earned an annual base salary of $2.75 million.

Last year, my admiration for the remarkable talents of Cheeks, McCarthy, and Robbins grew even more as I learned about their impressive earnings. While specifics weren’t disclosed before 2024 by Paramount regarding their compensation as named executive officers, I was still able to gather some intriguing details.

Cheeks pocketed a total of $22.15 million last year, with $8 million coming from stock awards. McCarthy’s paycheck amounted to $19.48 million, including an $8 million stock reward, and Robbins earned a whopping $19.6 million, with $8.14 million stemming from stock grants. The trio truly embodies the spirit of hard work and success in their respective fields.

In the proxy report, the Paramount’s Board Compensation Committee deliberated on how the co-CEOs measured up against the company’s qualitative performance targets set for the year 2024.

In what it highlighted, the following points were made:

– Paramount+ experienced a significant increase of 33% in revenue, and amassed an additional 10 million subscribers, bringing the total to 77.5 million by the end of the year.

– Five of Paramount Pictures’ films ranked as number one at the domestic box office last year: “Mean Girls,” “Bob Marley: One Love,” “IF,” “Smile 2” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 3.”

– The company successfully renewed its agreements with key partners in distribution and affiliation, such as Charter, Nexstar, and Scripps.

With guidance from the co-CEOs, the compensation committee took steps to bolster our financial standing. This included producing a net operating cash flow of $752 million, a substantial increase from 2023 figures, and refining our asset composition by selling off non-essential assets such as our equity in Viacom18. This strategic move yielded a favorable financial return.

Cheeks, Robbins, and McCarthy reportedly attained “over $500 million in yearly cost savings,” as stated by Paramount. This was accomplished, in part, via multiple rounds of staff reductions throughout the organization.

In the disclosure section of the proxy statement, Paramount revealed that CFO Navex Chopra received a total compensation of approximately $8.78 million. The head of HR, Nancy Phillips, was compensated around $4.2 million (an increase from previous years). Christa D’Alimonte, who served as general counsel and left in June, had a future pay package valued at approximately $8.92 million as of 2024.

Essentially, Paramount is waiting for approval from Skydance, as they’ve been negotiating with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding conditions for their agreement. One of these conditions could involve a promise that the company will not participate in specific corporate diversity programs, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal on Thursday.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, appointed by former President Trump, has expressed his intention to veto mergers involving media companies that prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. This stance aligns with the aggressive anti-DEI policies of the Trump administration. In February, Paramount announced changes to some of its DEI programs in response to directives from the Trump administration. Carr also suggested that the ongoing lawsuit by Trump against CBS, accusing them of manipulating a ’60 Minutes’ interview with Kamala Harris, may influence the FCC’s review of the Skydance-Paramount merger. Trump is seeking $20 billion in damages from CBS; however, Paramount and CBS have filed to dismiss the lawsuit, describing it as a violation of the First Amendment. The parties involved are currently working with a mediator to negotiate a settlement. On Tuesday, ’60 Minutes’ executive producer Bill Owens resigned due to his inability to make independent decisions regarding the program.

On April 7, the agreement between Skydance (alongside RedBird Capital Partners) and Shari Redstone’s National Amusements Inc., Paramount’s majority owner, came to an end. This marked the start of a 90-day extension for the deal’s closing date, which was activated automatically.

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2025-04-25 23:16