CBS: Paying Big Bucks

No wonder CBS is laying off people.

"CBS Chief Executive Leslie Moonves' compensation soared last year -- to $36.8 million, a 28% increase over the previous year -- even as ratings on its flagship television network slipped and advertising sales at its radio and television stations softened.

Moonves, 58, earned a base salary of $5.3 million for 2007 and was awarded a $18.5 million cash bonus. Moonves also received more than $13 million in stock and option awards, according to the proxy. Moonves struck a new long-term contract with the company in October. The new deal stretches through September 2011."
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"The daily Nielsen ratings do not include the out-of-home viewers yet. When Nielsen makes the data broadly available ­ perhaps as early as this month, in a limited fashion ­ it will be reported separately, apart from the ratings “currency” for buying and selling commercial time. Still, the numbers present a more accurate reflection of the audience for a given episode or event."
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"The Nielsen Company yesterday confirmed that it had made company-wide job cuts—including at its Nielsen Business Media division.

Although it declined to say exactly how many people were let go, Nielsen says this latest round of layoffs puts the company closer to its goal of reducing 4,000 positions, which was part of a restructuring plan announced in December 2006. According to sources, as few as 40 and as many as 200 people were laid off. Nielsen said the cuts were across the entire organization and are not concentrated in any particular brand."