The studio and cable conglomerate that David Zaslav created couldn’t overcome outside forces and massive debt.

He and Gunnar Weidenfels detail the blockbuster unbundling of WBD: Decision "reflects our belief that each company will go further and faster apart than they can together."

Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders voted on Tuesday to reject the pay packages for several of the company’s executives, including CEO David Zaslav’s compensation package of more than $50 million.

CEO David Zaslav will collect a $51.9 million salary at Warner Bros. Discovery. That comes despite a shareholder vote rejecting the pay package. An advisory firm had suggested shareholders say no citing “inadequate responsiveness and an unmitigated pay-for-performance misalignment.

Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders just rejected CEO David Zaslav's pay package. Wall Street thinks a split-up of the company may be next.

At the end of March, Warner Bros. Discovery had gross debt of $38.0 billion, which is comprised of “total debt” ($37.4 billion) and financial leases ($535 million). The 2022 merger of WarnerMedia (owned by AT&T) and Discovery, Inc. created more than $50 billion of debt.

A majority of shareholders nixed Zaslav’s $51.9 million compensation package for 2024 in a symbolic “say-on-pay” ballot.

Monday's news that Warner Bros. Discovery is splitting into two companies has fueled chatter about which execs will end up leading the new entities.

The board had recommended shareholders to vote in favor of the 2024 executive compensation; however, more than 59% of them rejected the proposal on a non-binding basis.