New Eye on exec pay

Redstone vows fresh era despite CEO cash

Shari Redstone, the billionaire media heiress whose family owns CBS and Viacom, thinks the media industry has a poor “track record” when it comes to paying its executives.

“I believe that it should be performance-based,” Redstone told a crowd at a media conference in Midtown Manhattan Friday.

“The media industry does not have a good track record of doing that in the past, and I hope to lead that charge going forward,” she said.

Redstone gave the remarks just days after it emerged that acting CBS Chief Executive Joe Ianniello will be getting $100 million for not being named head of to-be-merged ViacomCBS — despite remaining head of the network behind shows like “Madam Secretary” and “Young Sheldon.”

Ianniello, who will grab the reins as chairman and CEO of CBS after it merges with Viacom, was promised $70 million in severance if he was not named head of ViacomCBS. That payment deal was made well before the companies agreed to join forces in August in a long-anticipated deal.

The sum has since been juiced by a $10 million payment to extend his CBS contract in June, plus $20 million in stock in the newly combined firm.

To be fair to Redstone, the initial $70 million in severance was a vestige of Ianniello’s contract under ex-CBS chairman and CEO Les Moonves, who was ousted in a flood of sexual misconduct allegations in late 2018.

Redstone on Friday appeared to be saying Ianniello’s pay package will not be replicated.

“In terms of executive compensation, I can only say that ViacomCBS is going to be fully aligned with the interest of all of our stakeholders,” Redstone told the crowd at the event hosted by the Paley Center for Media.

Redstone, who will serve as vice chair of ViacomCBS when the two companies merge, vowed to “be very involved in what happens going forward.”

Ianniello has been granted the top job at the network despite texts showing he was once supportive of Moonves’ battle to dilute Redstone’s voting control over CBS.

“I will have your back to the end!” Ianniello messaged Moonves in a text that emerged as part of a court filing by CBS parent company National Amusements.

The duo also referenced “The Godfather” in discussing their tactics for going against Redstone’s wishes to merge CBS with Viacom.

“Mattresses tomorrow a.m.,” Moonves wrote to Ianniello. “And take the gun,” he texted later. “We need it.”