John Malone might be retiring from the Lionsgate Entertainment board of the directors, but the studio wants investors to know it still plans to rely on the media mogul’s business acumen.
During the company’s fiscal first-quarter earnings conference call, Lionsgate management told analysts that Malone — who notified the company on July 11 of his plan to retire from the board — will still be involved in the company’s business.
“He’s still well-represented on our board and we are going to continue to rely on Dr. Malone’s wisdom and interest in our company,” Lionsgate management said during the call (it was unclear who was speaking).
Lionsgate announced the 77-year-old Malone’s retirement from the company’s board in a July filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Venture capitalist Scott Paterson also said he would be retiring from the board.
Lionsgate said in a statement at the time: “Messrs. Malone’s and Paterson’s retirement are not the result of any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to its operations, policies or practices. Messrs. Malone and Paterson will continue to serve on the Board, and Mr. Paterson will continue to serve as the Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee, until the expiration of their current term at the 2018 Annual Meeting, which is expected to be held in September 2018.”
A week after Lionsgate’s announcement, Charter Communications said that Malone would also be stepping down from the telecommunication company’s board as well.
As recent as last year, Malone sat on more companies’ board of directors than anyone else, outside of Liberty Media CEO Gregory Maffei. According to The Street, Malone and Maffei sat on 14 boards each.
Malone has spent decades helping to build the pay TV industry, earning the nickname the “Cable Cowboy.” Now the media mogul is lightening his load a bit. In stepping down from the Charter board, Malone said in a statement: “I am retiring from the board of Charter to reduce my travel and focus on fewer board positions.”
Executive Compensation 2017: Top TV, Film and Tech Bosses Ranked by Pay (Photos)
There's no business like show business, and few bank on that fact yearly quite like Hollywood's top executives.
Scroll through our gallery for to see top TV, film and digital executives ranked by their 2017 executive compensation (updating as more companies release their top execs' packages).
Tim Cook Apple CEO 2016: $8.5 2017: $12.8 Change: +51 percent
Despite the iPhone X receiving a collective "meh," Apple is still cruising under Cook's stewardship; Apple hauled in a record-setting $88.3 billion in revenue during Q4 of 2017.
Bob Bakish Viacom CEO 2016: N/A (Predecessor Philippe Dauman made $93 million, thanks to golden parachute) 2017: $20.3 Million Change: N/A
The man at the opposite end of Moonves' very long (we imagine) negotiating table. Bakish is tight with National Amusements controller Shari Redstone, and both of them want the Viacom chief to be Moonves' No. 2 should the re-merger happen.
Ted Sarandos Netflix Chief Content Officer 2016: $18.9 million 2017: $22.4 million Change: +19%
Netflix added 20 million streamers and unleashed a slew of new content in 2017, including "Icarus," the drugs-in-cycling documentary that went on to win an Oscar. At the same time, its share price jumped 50 percent (before rocketing in 2018). Sarandos should take a bow -- and buy a very nice villa in the Mediterranean with his raise.
Reed Hastings Netflix President, Chairman and CEO 2016: $23.2 million 2017: $24.4 million Change: +5%
The Netflix head honcho joined the billionaire's club for the first time in 2017, thanks in large part to the company's gamble on original content paying off in spades. He's not taking a victory lap yet, though, with the streaming giant still firmly set on taking over Hollywood. At CodeCon 2017, he said he's always telling his content team to "get more aggressive," rather than "drive toward conformity."
Steve Burke NBCUniversal CEO 2016: $46.07 million 2017: $46.5 million Change: +0.9%
Burke's overall take for 2017 was roughly flat compared with 2016, but the NBCUniveral CEO managed to again bring in more than his boss at parent company Comcast.
Jeff Bewkes Time Warner CEO 2016: $32.6 million 2017: $49 million Change: +50%
Bewkes damn near matched his entire 2016 pay in 2017 stock options. Sometimes it's not so terrible for your company to be bought out. (You know, if the DOJ allows it.) Half of the Bewkes stock haul covers 2018, too -- an incentive to stick around through this merger.
Leslie Moonves CBS Chairman, President and CEO 2016: $69.6 million 2017: $69.3 million Change: No material change
CBS has been "America's Most-Watched Network" for more than a decade under Moonves, but is any amount of money worth that headache that this possible realignment with Viacom comes with? OK, still yes.
No one tell Dish Network’s Charlie Ergen what CBS chief Les Moonves made
There's no business like show business, and few bank on that fact yearly quite like Hollywood's top executives.
Scroll through our gallery for to see top TV, film and digital executives ranked by their 2017 executive compensation (updating as more companies release their top execs' packages).
