Jason Kilar Nets $52.1 Million in First Year as WarnerMedia CEO

The Wrap

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In his first year as WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar earned $52.1 million, according to an SEC filing, though there is a pretty big asterisk on that value.

Kilar took home more than $49 million in stock swards, on top of his base pay of $1.67 million. However, that $49 million will vest over the next four years. Kilar took over as WarnerMedia CEO on May 1 and John Stankey assumed the top job at AT&T in July. Going forward, Kilar’s yearly compensation package will be around $17 million.

Stankey’s base pay was just over $2 million with his stock awards totaling $13.4 million. In total, he took home just over $21 million. That was down slightly from the $22.5 million he earned in 2019, his last full year as WarnerMedia CEO.

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Kilar’s first year atop WarnerMedia has been filled with numerous changes, and the launch of one pretty major streaming service in HBO Max. Kilar reorganized the business, which saw the exits of senior executives Bob Greenblatt and Kevin Reilly in favor of his former Hulu buddy Andy Forssell. Kilar also made the game-changing decision to debut Warner Bros.’ entire 2021 film slate in theaters and on HBO Max simultaneously.

So far, AT&T seems pleased with its experiment.

“What we’ve seen is not only good viewership of those movies on HBO Max, but engagement that followed, that’s been encouraging. So real success with it so far,” AT&T CFO John Stephens said Monday during the virtual Deutsch Bank Media, Internet and Telecom Conference. “We think it’s worked out well for all involved.”

Randall Stephenson, who retired earlier this year, made $29.1 million in his last year with AT&T. Following Stankey’s ascension, Stephenson shifted to executive chairman. He will still be a consultant for the company and bag an extra $1 million for his (part-time) troubles.

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