Les Moonves Will Stay On As Advisor To Cbs Receive Possible 120M Payout Pending Investigation


There’s a chance that the public will never know exactly how that investigation turns out. CBS would, under certain circumstances, be required to disclose any payouts to Moonves like a $120 million exit package, but in the separation agreement between them CBS, also agreed to “seek to preserve the confidentiality of all written and oral reports by the investigators in the Internal Investigation, and all information and findings developed by the investigators or included in such written or oral reports in relation to Executive.” Moonves’ interim replacement is Joseph Ianniello, who released a memo to his staff pledging to change the culture left behind by Moonves’ leadership: “At the core of any company is its culture … And never has it been more important for us to make it abundantly clear that CBS has a steadfast commitment to diversity, inclusion and a safe and positive working environment.” That exit package would be even higher than it is, but another (previously reported) aspect of Moonves’ exit is that $20 million of his severance will go towards various #MeToo affiliated causes. And even though he should consider himself lucky if he makes it out with any severance at all, the $120 million is less than half of the $280 million the entire remainder of his CBS contract would have been worth.