David Zaslav’s farewell: the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery signs his signature in video

David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery (for a few more hours anyway), began his farewell by thanking employees in a video posted Monday on the company’s internal portal.

“It has been a great honor to be with you,” said Zaslav, speaking from the Warner Bros. Studios Ranch facility. in Burbank. “I hope you are proud of what you have built, what you have created, and the role you have played in creating an extraordinary story.”

A representative for WBD declined to share a link to the video, explaining that it was intended for employees only, but Deadline obtained a transcript. (Read it below.)

The three-minute video shows Zaslav sitting in a hard-backed chair on the Warner pitch, with shots of him making remarks, eventually transitioning to a series of still photographs. Multiple employees told Deadline that the photos were geared toward award shows, red carpets, and the film and television stars Zaslav interacted with during his tenure.

The CEO, who became an unexpected (and ultimately controversial) Hollywood mainstay with the much smaller company Discovery’s acquisition of AT&T’s WarnerMedia in April 2022, is leaving with a big golden parachute. The Paramount-WBD deal is expected to close Tuesday, less than eight months after Zaslav and the WBD board signed a deal to sell the company to David Ellison’s studio.

After taking the helm, Zaslav bought a house in Los Angeles, moved Jack Warner’s old office into his office in Burbank and set about reducing the company’s massive debt, which totals more than $50 billion. A significant portion of the debt remains and will be absorbed by the new Skydance, whose $80 billion debt load leaves little room for error as it seeks to cut costs and increase streaming profits.

WBD previously planned to split in two, separating studios and streaming from cable networks, and the company later agreed to sell the former to Netflix. Ellison continued to bid for the combined company and eventually managed to fight his way through and close the deal, valued at $110 billion.

This was a rich transaction for WBD shareholders, who will receive a payment of $31 per share. (WBD ended its final day as a publicly traded stock at $30.95.) Zaslav in particular is expected to reap hundreds of millions from his handling of the deal, with the official figure expected to be disclosed in SEC filings over the coming days.

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Other sweeteners included a $7 million per day fee from Paramount that began October 1 and equity financing support from Larry Ellison.

“I can’t wait to see what you do in the years to come,” Zaslav says in the video. “I am so grateful for all the years at Warner Bros. Discovery, for the wonderful experiences creating content, telling stories, and getting to know so many of you.”

Here is the full transcript:

“Hello everyone. I’m here in the quaint loft at Warner Bros. Park in Burbank. To 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 risen, fallen and given way to something completely different.

If these walls could talk, they would tell stories of extraordinary creativity, craftsmanship and collaboration. They told stories about 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 best possible.

This is what you do every day, all over the world. You start with an idea and, through your talent, expertise and a ton of hard work, you 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 like this. Stories and characters, games and experiences that have become an integral part of our culture. Journalism that helped people understand the world around them. Sports moments that brought people to the edge of their seats and sometimes a front-row seat to history itself.

But none of these moments happened on their own. Behind each of these moments is the work, talent and commitment of everyone who does their part to bring it all to life. And that’s what matters. Honoring the work we’ve been given, doing our part to move it forward, and knowing that the work continues.

For me, it was a great honor to be at your side. I hope you’re proud of what you’ve built, what you’ve created, and the role you’ve played in crafting an extraordinary story.
What has happened is prologue. The future awaits each of you. For your spirit, your ingenuity, your creativity and your courage.

I can’t wait to see what you do in the years to come. I am very grateful for all these years at Warner Bros. Discovery, for the wonderful experiences of creating content, telling stories, and getting to know each other with so many of you. Thank you so much.”