David Zaslav, four and a half years after closing the debt-burdened deal that formed Warner Bros. Discovery, is bidding farewell to the company’s employees as it is about to get swallowed up by David Ellison’s Paramount — to create a media giant saddled with even more debt.
Zaslav, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, shared a video with employees Monday expressing gratitude for their hard work and creativity over the years. (The video, viewed by Variety, is available only on WBD’s internal portal.) Zaslav will exit with the megamerger of Paramount and WBD, scheduled to close Oct. 6, with the new Ellison-run company adopting the name Skydance Corp.
In the video, Zaslav sits alone in a director’s chair in the Loft warehouse at Warner Bros. Studios’ Ranch facility in Burbank, California.
“For me, it’s been a great honor to be alongside all of you,” Zaslav says, speaking to the camera in the 3-minute video. “I hope you take pride in what you’ve built, what you’ve created, and the role you’ve played in shaping an extraordinary history.” (Read the transcript of his message below.)
Zaslav’s video includes a montage of Warner Bros. Discovery’s greatest hits, featuring clips from “The Pitt,” “The Lego Movie,” “Barbie,” “One Battle After Another,” “Dune,” “Hacks,” “Friends,” “The House of the Dragon,” “White Lotus,” “Abbott Elementary,” “Sinners” and (of course!) “Harry Potter,” as well as shots from CNN and WBD’s sports programming. According to a company source, Zaslav wanted to share his goodbye message as a video rather than a text memo in order to capture the visuals.
“I can’t wait to see what you do in the years ahead,” Zaslav says. “I’m so grateful for all these years at Warner Bros. Discovery, for the wonderful experiences creating content, telling stories and getting to know so many of you.”
Zaslav has been among the most highly compensated CEOs in the media biz. In 2025, his pay package totaled $165 million. That included a one-time grant of stock options valued at $109.6 million, which the company awarded to Zaslav on June 12, 2025, for his work on the company’s plan to split into two publicly traded entities (one housing WB’s HBO, HBO Max and studios business; the other largely composed of the linear TV network business along with Discovery+ and other assets). The WBD split into two companies did not proceed because of the deal to sell the company to Paramount Skydance.
When the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger closes, Zaslav is set to receive a “golden parachute” payout of at least $550 million.
Over the years, Zaslav and his lieutenants made job cuts across the company as they looked to reduce costs and improve operating efficiency. For full-year 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery had a pro-forma EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) loss of about $2.1 billion. In 2025, it generated EBITDA profit of $1.4 billion and has been on track for double-digit percentage growth in subscriber-related revenue growth in 2026.
Here’s a transcript of Zaslav’s farewell message:
Hello, everyone. I’m here in the scenic Loft on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank. For the uninitiated, it might look like an empty room. But people here know what spaces like this can become. For decades, worlds have been built here. Sets have gone up, come down and given way to something entirely different.
If these walls could talk they’d tell stories about extraordinary creativity, craftsmanship and collaboration. They’d tell stories about the people who imagined something that didn’t exist and then found a way to bring it to life. The late nights, the early mornings, the commitment to making something the very best it can be.
That’s what all of you, all around the world, do every day. You start with an idea, and through talent, expertise and an enormous amount of hard work, turn it into something real. Something that connects with people, stays with them and becomes part of their lives. Over the years, you’ve created countless moments just like that. Stories and characters, games and experiences, that became part of our culture. Journalism that helped people understand the world around them. Moments in sports that brought people to the edge of their seats, and at times, a front-row seat to history itself.
But none of those moments happened on their own. Behind every one of those moments is the work, talent and commitment of everyone who does their part to bring it all to life. And that is what matters. Honoring the work that came before us, doing our part to carry it forward and knowing that the work continues.
For me, it’s been a great honor to be alongside all of you. I hope you take pride in what you’ve built, what you’ve created and the role you’ve played in shaping an extraordinary history.
What’s past is prologue. The future waits for each and every one of you. For your spirit, your ingenuity, your creativity and your courage.
I can’t wait to see what you do in the years ahead. I’m so grateful for all these years at Warner Bros. Discovery, for the wonderful experiences creating content, telling stories and getting to know so many of you. Thank you so much.