CBS Entertainment Chief Got $7.8 Million, Most of It as Bonus

CBS Entertainment President Jeffrey Sagansky, who has helped guide CBS to the top of the ratings charts over the past three years, earned a total of $7.8 million last year most of it in the form of a onetime bonus for keeping the network in its No. 1 position.

It was the second consecutive year that Sagansky earned what is widely believed to be one of largest executive paychecks in Hollywood. The chief CBS programmer was paid a total of $6.1 million last year for leading the network into first place during 1992.

Sagansky’s pay package was disclosed Tuesday in the CBS Inc. proxy report, which showed that he earned a base salary of $500,000 and a bonus of $7.3 million tied to the network achieving a “first standing” in last year’s prime-time ratings.

The pay package does not include any bonus Sagansky might receive for the current broadcast season, which ends this week.

Sagansky is nearing the end of his 4 1/2-year CBS contract and is expected to decide soon whether he will stay at the network.

If he stays, Sagansky is expected to assume a new title at CBS with broader responsibilities, but he would cede overall running of the entertainment division to his chief lieutenant, Peter Tortorici.

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Sagansky earned more than all four of the other top CBS executives combined, including his bosses, Chief Executive Laurence A. Tisch, who earned a total of $1.9 million last year, and CBS/Broadcast Group President Howard Stringer, who earned $1.5 million.

Industry sources say Sagansky has talked with both MCA Inc. and Sony Pictures about joining those studios after his contract expires, as well as with independent movie producer Savoy Pictures.

But he has yet to reach a deal with any of them, and the longer he waits, sources suggest, the more likely he is to continue some kind of association with CBS.