Discovery Communications has awarded Chief Executive David Zaslav a huge boost in compensation, more than tripling his compensation package to $42.6 million for 2010, reports the Los Angeles Times’ Company Town blog.

Zaslav, a former executive at NBCUniversal, was paid $2 million in salary; stock awards of $20.3 million and options valued at $15.4 million; $4.4 million in non-equity incentives; and other compensation such as travel and security expenses. His total compensation for 2009 was $11.7 million, the article notes.

Discovery’s shares have increased about 20% this year, while the company owns 50% of the newly debuted Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). Discovery also owns networks such as TLC and Animal Planet.