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{{Short description|American media and entertainment conglomerate}}
{{Short description|American mass media and entertainment conglomerate}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2023}}
{{Distinguish|text=the entertainment subsidiary [[Warner Bros.]] or its film division [[Warner Bros. Pictures]]}}
{{Infobox company
{{Infobox company
| name = Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.
| name = Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.
| logo =
| logo = Warner Bros. Discovery.svg
| logo_size =
| logo_size = 270px
| logo_caption =
| logo_caption = Logo used since 2022
| image =
| trade_name =
| type = [[Public company|Public]]
| image_size =
| traded_as = {{ublist
| image_caption =
| {{NASDAQ|WBD}} (Series A)
| type = [[Public company|Public]]
| [[Nasdaq-100]] component
| traded_as = {{Unbulleted list|{{NASDAQ|WBDWV}}}}
| [[S&P 500]] component<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/documents/indexnews/announcements/20220407-1451476/1451476_attspinwbd5.pdf|title=S&P Dow Jones Indices Announces Treatment of AT&T Transaction with Discovery|website=[[S&P Dow Jones Indices]]|publisher=[[S&P Global]]|date=April 7, 2022|access-date=May 24, 2022|archive-date=April 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407214356/https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/documents/indexnews/announcements/20220407-1451476/1451476_attspinwbd5.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
| industry = {{Unbulleted list|[[Mass media]]|[[Outline of entertainment|Entertainment]]}}
}}
| predecessors = {{Unbulleted list|[[WarnerMedia]]|[[Discovery, Inc.]]}}
| ISIN = {{ISIN|sl=n|pl=y|US9344231041}}
| founded = {{Start date and age|2022|04|08}}
| industry = {{ublist
| founder =
| [[Media conglomerate|Media]]
| hq_location =
| [[Outline of entertainment|Entertainment]]
| hq_location_city =
}}
| hq_location_country = United States
| predecessors = {{ublist
| area_served = Worldwide
| [[WarnerMedia]]
| key_people = {{Unbulleted list||[[Samuel DiPiazza]] ([[Chairperson|Chairman]])|[[David Zaslav]] ([[Chief executive officer|CEO]])|Gunnar Wiedenfels ([[Chief financial officer|CFO]])}}
| [[Discovery, Inc.]]
| brands = <!-- Do not list WarnerMedia or Discovery's current brands, some could be spun-off or sold before the merger -->
}}
| revenue =
| founded = {{start date and age|mf=yes|2022|04|08}}
| operating_income =
| net_income =
| founder =
| hq_location = 230 Park Avenue South
| assets =
| hq_location_city = {{nowrap|[[New York City]], New York}}
| equity =
| hq_location_country = U.S.
| num_employees =
| area_served = Worldwide
| divisions =
| key_people = {{Unbulleted list||[[Samuel DiPiazza]] ([[Chairperson|chairman]])|[[David Zaslav]] ([[President (corporate title)|president]] and [[Chief executive officer|CEO]])}}
| subsid =
| revenue = {{Increase}} {{US$|41.32 billion|link=yes}} (2023)
| website = {{URL|wbd.com}}
| operating_income = {{IncreaseNegative}} US$−1.55 billion (2023)
| footnotes = <ref name=wbdlaunch/><ref>{{cite web|first=Georg|last=Szalai|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/discovery-cfo-gunnar-wiedenfels-warnermedia-merger-1234968367/|title=''Cash Never Lies'': Meet the Discovery CFO Targeting $3B in Savings in the Warner Merger|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=June 17, 2021|access-date=April 4, 2022}}</ref>
| net_income = {{IncreaseNegative}} US$−3.13 billion (2023)
| assets = {{nowrap| {{Decrease}} US$122.8 billion (2023)}}
| equity = {{Decrease}} US$45.23 billion (2023)
| num_employees = 34,300 (2024)<ref name="US_Sec"/>
| owner = [[Advance Publications]] (8%)<ref>{{cite web|title=Warner Bros. Discovery – Annual Reports & Proxies|url=https://ir.wbd.com/financials/annual-reports-and-proxies/default.aspx|website=ir.wbd.com|access-date=August 5, 2022|archive-date=August 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220817111555/https://ir.wbd.com/financials/annual-reports-and-proxies/default.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref><!--Do not add BlackRock and Vanguard. They do not count because they are not long-term strategic partners-->
| divisions = {{Unbulleted list
| [[Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences|Global Experiences]]
| [[Warner Bros. Discovery International|International]]
| [[Warner Bros. Discovery Networks|Networks]]
| [[Warner Bros. Discovery Global Streaming & Games|Global Streaming & Games]]
}}
| subsid = {{Unbulleted list|[[Warner Bros.|Warner Bros. Entertainment]]|[[Home Box Office, Inc.]]|[[TNT Sports]]|[[CNN|CNN Worldwide]]|[[DC Entertainment]]
}}
| website = {{url|https://wbd.com/}}
| footnotes = <ref name="US_Sec">{{cite web |url=https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1437107/000143710724000017/wbd-20231231.htm |title=Warner Bros. Discovery Form 10-K |date=February 23, 2024 |publisher=[[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]] |pages=11, 59, 61 |access-date=February 23, 2024 }}</ref>
}}
}}


'''Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.''' ('''WBD''') is an American [[Multinational corporation|multinational]] [[mass media]] and [[Outline of entertainment|entertainment]] [[Conglomerate (company)|conglomerate]] headquartered in [[New York City]]. It was formed from [[WarnerMedia]]'s [[Corporate spin-off|spin-off]] by [[AT&T]] and [[Mergers and acquisitions|merger]] with [[Discovery, Inc.]] on April 8, 2022.
'''Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.'''<ref name="WBD-listing">{{cite web|date=March 25, 2022|title= AT&T Announces Details for Completion of WM Spin-Off|url= https://about.att.com/story/2022/details-for-completion-of-warnermedia-spinoff.html|access-date=March 26, 2022|work=[[AT&T]]}}</ref> is an American [[multinational corporation|multinational]] [[mass media]] and entertainment [[Conglomerate (company)|conglomerate]]. The company was formed through the merger of [[WarnerMedia]] and [[Discovery, Inc.]], completed on April 8, 2022.<ref name="wbdlaunch">{{cite news |last=Maas |first=Jennifer |date=April 6, 2022 |title=Discovery Makes Big WarnerMedia Executive Suite Changes Ahead of Merger; Toby Emmerich and Gerhard Zeiler to Remain |website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |publisher=[[Penske Media Corporation]] |url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/discovery-warnermedia-executives-fired-1235226592/ |access-date=April 8, 2022 |quote=As Variety previously reported, insiders first thought the transaction between Discovery and WarnerMedia’s current owner AT&T would be formally completed on April 11, but now sources say the deal will likely close as early as end of day this Friday.}}</ref> The company's name is a combination from the flagship property of WarnerMedia,[[Warner Bros.]] film studio, and the [[Discovery Channel]] pay TV network.


The company's properties are divided into nine business units, consisting of the flagship [[Warner Bros.]] [[Warner Bros. Pictures|film]] and [[Warner Bros. Television|television]] studios, comic book publisher [[DC Comics]], [[Home Box Office, Inc.]] (including [[HBO]], [[Cinemax]] and [[Magnolia Network]]), U.S. Networks Group (including the majority of the advertisement-supported cable channels of its predecessors, namely Discovery, [[Scripps Networks Interactive|Scripps Networks]], [[Turner Broadcasting System|Turner Broadcasting]], and Warner), CNN Worldwide (which includes [[CNN]] and [[CNN International]]), [[TNT Sports|TNT Sports]] (including [[Motor Trend Group]], [[TNT Sports (United Kingdom)|TNT Sports UK]], and [[Eurosport]]), Global Streaming & Interactive Entertainment (which includes the [[Discovery+]] and [[Max (streaming service)|Max]] streaming services, as well as the video game publisher [[Warner Bros. Games]]), and International Networks. It also holds a one-eighth stake in [[The CW]] (with [[Paramount Global]] also owning a one-eighth stake), and a majority stake in [[Food Network|Television Food Network, G.P.]] (comprising Food Network and [[Cooking Channel]]), which are co-owned by [[Nexstar Media Group]].
==History==


===Beginning===
== Background ==
{{Main|WarnerMedia|Discovery, Inc.}}
On May 16, 2021, [[Bloomberg News]] reported that [[AT&T]] was in talks with [[Discovery, Inc.]] for it to merge with [[WarnerMedia]], the parent company of [[Warner Bros.]], to form a publicly-traded company that would be divided between its shareholders.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hammond |first1=Ed |title=AT&T Is Preparing to Merge Media Assets With Discovery |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-16/at-t-is-said-in-talks-to-combine-content-assets-with-discovery-kor6r2uj |agency=[[Bloomberg News]] |access-date=June 2, 2021 |date=May 16, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Sherman |first1=Alex |title=AT&T in advanced talks to merge WarnerMedia with Discovery, deal expected as soon as Monday |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/16/att-in-advanced-talks-to-merge-warnermedia-with-discovery.html |website=[[CNBC]] |access-date=June 2, 2021 |date=May 16, 2021}}</ref>


=== 1923–1979 ===
On May 17, 2021, AT&T announced that it had agreed to dispose its equity stake in wholly-owned media and entertainment subsidiary WarnerMedia (the former Time Warner, which AT&T acquired in 2018 for just over US$85 billion in an attempt to become a [[Vertical integration|vertically integrated]] [[media conglomerate]]) and merge it with Discovery Inc. to form a new company, which is subject to regulatory approval. The merger, scheduled to be completed in mid-2022, will be structured as a [[Reverse Morris Trust]] with AT&T shareholders holding a 71% interest in the new company's stock and appointing seven board members, and Discovery shareholders holding a 29% interest and appointing six board members. AT&T will receive US$43 billion in cash and debt from the spin-off.<ref name="bloomberg-05-21">{{cite news |last1=Hammond |first1=Ed |last2=Turner |first2=Nick |title=AT&T’s WarnerMedia, Discovery to Merge in Blockbuster Deal |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-17/at-t-to-merge-media-assets-with-discovery-in-43-billion-deal |agency=[[Bloomberg News]] |access-date=June 2, 2021 |date=May 17, 2021}}</ref><ref name="cnbc-05-17">{{cite web |last1=Kovach |first1=Steve |last2=Meredith |first2=Sam |title=AT&T announces $43 billion deal to merge WarnerMedia with Discovery |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/17/att-to-combine-warnermedia-and-discovery-assets-to-create-a-new-standalone-company.html |website=[[CNBC]] |access-date=June 2, 2021 |language=en |date=May 17, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Hayes |first1=Dade |title=David Zaslav And John Stankey Outline Plans For Merging Discovery And WarnerMedia, Addressing Future Of Jason Kilar, CNN, Streaming |url=https://deadline.com/2021/05/discovery-warnermedia-att-merger-streaming-david-zaslav-1234758225 |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |access-date=June 2, 2021 |date=May 17, 2021}}</ref>
[[File:WarnerMedia (2019) logo.svg|200px|thumb|2019–2022 WarnerMedia logo]]


[[Warner Bros.]], [[Turner Broadcasting System]], [[Scripps Networks Interactive]] and [[Discovery, Inc.]] have conjoined histories. Warner Bros. was founded on April 4, 1923, by four brothers, [[Harry Warner|Harry]], [[Albert Warner|Albert]], [[Sam Warner|Sam]], and [[Jack L. Warner|Jack Warner]]. The company established itself as a leader in the American [[Warner Bros. Pictures|film]] industry<ref>{{cite news |last1=Yogerst |first1=Chris |title=How the Warner Brothers Got Their Film Business Started |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/feature/warner-brothers-studio-history-origins-1235366885/ |access-date=15 December 2023 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=4 April 2023}}</ref> before diversifying into [[Warner Bros. Animation|animation]], [[Warner Bros. Television Studios|television]], and [[Warner Bros. Games|video games]] and is one of the [[Major film studios|"Big Five"]] American [[film studio]]s, as well as a member of the [[Motion Picture Association]] (MPA). In 1965, [[Turner Broadcasting System]] was founded by [[Ted Turner]] and based in [[Atlanta]], Georgia. A year later, [[Kinney National Company]] came into existence and its media division became [[WarnerMedia|Warner Communications]] before merging with [[Time Inc.]] in 1990 to become Time Warner. During its time as Warner Communications, the company made a number of further acquisitions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Atari sold to Warner Communications |url=https://atari.com/pages/atari-sold-to-warner-communications |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=Atari® |language=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240321200901/https://atari.com/pages/atari-sold-to-warner-communications |archive-date=2024-03-21 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Reckert |first=Clare |date=8 September 1976 |title=Warner Signs Pact to Purchase Atari |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/09/08/archives/warner-signs-pact-to-purchase-atari-cash-and-debenture-transaction.html |access-date=21 March 2024 |website=NY Times}}</ref>
The new company will be led by Discovery's current CEO, [[David Zaslav]], while WarnerMedia's CEO [[Jason Kilar]]'s position in the new company is uncertain.<ref name="bloomberg-05-21"/> Zaslav stated that the two companies spend a combined US$20 billion annually on content (outpacing [[Disney]], [[Netflix]] and [[Amazon.com]]). The company will aim to expand their streaming services, which includes WarnerMedia's [[HBO Max]], to reach 400 million global subscribers.<ref name="cnbc-05-17"/>


===Formation===
=== 1979–1994 ===
[[File:Discovery Networks logo (3).svg|200px|thumb|2018–2022 Discovery, Inc. logo]]
On June 1, 2021, it was announced that the merged company would be known as '''Warner Bros. Discovery''', and an interim [[wordmark]] was unveiled with the tagline "The stuff that dreams are made of", a line from the 1941 Warner Bros. film, ''[[The Maltese Falcon (1941 film)|The Maltese Falcon]]''. Zaslav explained that the company aimed to be the "most innovative, exciting and fun place to tell stories in the world", and would combine Warner Bros.' "fabled hundred-year legacy of creative, authentic storytelling and taking bold risks to bring the most amazing stories to life" with Discovery's "integrity, innovation and inspiration."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Palmeri |first1=Christopher |title=Warner Bros. Discovery Will Be Name of Company Shorn From AT&T |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-01/warner-bros-discovery-will-be-name-of-company-shorn-from-at-t |website=[[Bloomberg News]] |access-date=June 2, 2021 |date=June 1, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Goldsmith |first1=Jill |title=Warner Bros. Discovery Set As Name Of Merged Company |url=https://deadline.com/2021/06/discovery-merged-company-to-be-called-warner-bros-discovery-1234767195 |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |access-date=June 2, 2021 |date=June 1, 2021}}</ref>


In 1979, Warner Communications formed a joint venture with credit card company [[American Express]] called [[Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment]]. American Express acquired a 50% stake in Warner Communications' cable television holdings for $175 million.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kleinfield |first=N. r |date=1982-11-24 |title=WARNER AMEX HEAD TO RESIGN |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/24/business/warner-amex-head-to-resign.html |access-date=2024-04-05 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Harris |first=Kathryn |date=1985-06-12 |title=American Express OKs Sale of Cable-TV Unit : Also Seeks Quick Approval From Its Partner, Warner Communications, of Sweetened Offer |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-06-12-fi-6356-story.html |access-date=2024-04-05 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> This company owned such cable channels as [[MTV]], [[Nickelodeon]], [[The Movie Channel]], and [[VH1]] (which was launched in 1985 on the channel space left by Turner's [[Cable Music Channel]]). Warner Communications bought out American Express's half in 1984 and sold the venture a year later to the [[Viacom (1952–2006)|original iteration of Viacom]], which renamed it [[Paramount Media Networks#Background|MTV Networks]] (now known as Paramount Media Networks).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Henderson |first=Nell |date=1985-08-10 |title=Warner Buys All Stock in Warner Amex |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1985/08/10/warner-buys-all-stock-in-warner-amex/bc9e3fab-2a0e-40ab-b311-868eab50eedc/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-01-16 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230820161013/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1985/08/10/warner-buys-all-stock-in-warner-amex/bc9e3fab-2a0e-40ab-b311-868eab50eedc/ |archive-date= 20 August 2023 }}</ref> In 1982, Warner Communications purchased [[Popular Library]] from [[CBS Publications]]. Meanwhile in the same year, [[Discovery, Inc.|Cable Education Network]] was founded, launching [[Discovery Channel|The Discovery Channel]] three years later and was renamed to Discovery Communications in 1994. [[Scripps Networks Interactive]] was founded in 2008 spun off from [[E. W. Scripps Company]]'s cable division.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lee |first=Melissa |date=4 September 1994 |title=Discovery Communications Looks to New Lands, Interactive Media |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1994/09/05/discovery-communications-looks-to-new-lands-interactive-media/29e69d38-504b-4277-b20f-dc008281764e/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240330185331/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1994/09/05/discovery-communications-looks-to-new-lands-interactive-media/29e69d38-504b-4277-b20f-dc008281764e/ |archive-date= 30 March 2024 }}</ref>
On December 22, 2021, the transaction was approved by the [[European Commission]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Discovery-WarnerMedia Merger Gets European Union Approval|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/discovery-warnermedia-merger-gets-european-union-approval-1235066577/|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|last=Vlessing|first=Etan|date=December 22, 2021|access-date=December 22, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=European Commission grants approval for Discovery acquisition of WarnerMedia|url=https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/european-commission-grants-approval-discovery-acquisition-warnermedia-2021-12-22/|work=[[Reuters]]|date=December 22, 2021|access-date=December 22, 2021}}</ref> On January 5, 2022, ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' reported that WarnerMedia and [[Paramount Global]] (at the time named ViacomCBS) were exploring a possible sale of either a majority stake or all of [[The CW]], and that [[Nexstar Media Group]] (which became The CW's largest affiliate group when it acquired former [[The WB|WB]] co-owner [[Tribune Broadcasting]] in 2019) was considered a leading bidder.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/warnermedia-and-viacomcbs-are-exploring-possible-sale-of-cw-network-11641436892|title=WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS Are Exploring Possible Sale of CW Network|last=Flint|first=Joe|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=January 5, 2022|access-date=January 6, 2022}}</ref> The news led to speculation that, should a sale take place, new ownership could steer the network in a new direction, transforming The CW from a young adult-oriented network into one that featured more unscripted and even national news programming.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/the-cw-sale-nexstar-1235073465|title=Will The CW Be a Streaming Wars Casualty?|last=Weprin|first=Alex|last2=Goldberg|first2=Lesley|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=January 12, 2022|access-date=January 12, 2022}}</ref> However, reports also indicated that WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS could include a contractual commitment that would require any new owner to buy new programming from those companies, allowing them to reap some continual revenue through the network.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/the-cw-sale-may-kill-original-programming-report/|title=REPORT: The CW's Potential Sale May Kill Its Original Programming|last=Farley|first=Ashley|work=Comic Book Resources|date=January 13, 2022|access-date=January 14, 2022}}</ref> Network president/CEO [[Mark Pedowitz]] confirmed talks of a potential sale in a memo to CW staffers, but added that "It's too early to speculate what might happen" and that the network "must continue to do what we do best."<ref>{{cite web|last=Goldberg|first=Lesley|last2=Weprin|first2=Alex|date=January 6, 2022|title=ViacomCBS and WarnerMedia Exploring Sale of The CW|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/the-cw-for-sale-warnermedia-viacomcbs-1235070616/|access-date=January 9, 2022|work=The Hollywood Reporter}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2022/01/the-cw-sale-warnermedia-viacomcbs-nexstar-1234905157|title=The CW CEO Mark Pedowitz Confirms WarnerMedia & ViacomCBS Exploring "Strategic Opportunities" As Majority Stake In Network Is Shopped With Nexstar Among Suitors" As Majority Stake In Network Is Shopped With Nexstar Among Suitors – Update|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|work=Deadline Hollywood|date=January 6, 2022|access-date=January 6, 2022}}</ref>


=== 1996–2019 ===
On January 26, 2022, AT&T CEO [[John Stankey]] stated that the merger was expected to close sometime during the second quarter of 2022.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/warnermedia-and-discovery-merger-now-expected-to-close-this-spring/ |title=WarnerMedia and Discovery Merger Now Expected to Close This Spring |last=Hepburn |first=Tmera |website=Cord Cutters News |date=January 26, 2022 |access-date=January 27, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.c21media.net/news/warnermedia-discovery-merger-expected-to-close-in-q2-says-atts-stankey/ |title=WarnerMedia-Discovery merger expected to close in Q2, says AT&T's Stankey |last=Pinto |first=Jordan |website=C21 Media |date=January 27, 2022 |access-date=January 27, 2022}}</ref> On February 1, 2022, it was reported that AT&T had finalized the structure of the merger: WarnerMedia would be spun off [[pro rata]] to AT&T's shareholders, and then merge with Discovery Inc. to form the new company.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2022/biz/news/att-spin-off-warnermedia-43-billion-deal-1235168480/ |title=AT&T Sets Plan to Spin Off WarnerMedia in $43 Billion Deal |website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |publisher=[[Penske Media Corporation]] |last=Spangler |first=Todd |date=February 1, 2022 |access-date=February 1, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/att-warnermedia-spin-off-discovery-merger-1235084978/ |title=AT&T Picks WarnerMedia Spin-Off as Structure for Key Step in Discovery Merger |last=Szalai |first=George |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |publisher=[[Penske Media Corporation]] |date=February 1, 2022 |access-date=February 1, 2022}}</ref> The transaction was approved by the Brazilian antitrust regulator [[Administrative Council for Economic Defense|Cade]] on February 7,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://noticiasdatv.uol.com.br/noticia/mercado/cade-surpreende-e-aprova-fusao-discoverywarnermedia-sem-restricoes-no-brasil-74806 |title=Cade surpreende e aprova fusão Discovery/WarnerMedia sem restrições |website=Notícias da TV |language=pt}}</ref> followed by the [[United States Department of Justice]] on February 9.<ref>{{cite web |title=Discovery-WarnerMedia Merger Gets U.S. Antitrust Clearance |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/discovery-warnermedia-merger-gets-u-s-antitrust-clearance-1235089790/ |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |publisher=[[Penske Media Corporation]] |last=Szalai |first=Georg |date=February 9, 2022 |access-date=February 9, 2022}}</ref>
In 1996, Time Warner Entertainment acquired the Turner Broadcasting System; but the company later merged with [[AOL|America Online]] (AOL) to form AOL Time Warner in 2001 and reverted to the Time Warner name in 2003.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Grocer |first=Stephen |date=2018-06-15 |title=What Happened to AOL Time Warner? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/15/business/dealbook/aol-time-warner.html |access-date=2024-04-18 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>


Time Warner spun off [[Time Warner Cable|its cable division]] (later known as [[Spectrum (brand)|Spectrum]] owned by [[Charter Communications]]) and AOL (now owned by [[Yahoo! Inc. (2017–present)|Yahoo! Inc.]]) in 2009 and Time Inc. was spun out in 2013, which was later acquired by [[Meredith Corporation]] and is now known as [[Dotdash Meredith]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shepardson |first=David |date=18 May 2016 |title=Charter Communications completes purchase of Time Warner Cable |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0Y92BR/#:~:text=Charter%20has%20valued%20its%20deal,Bright%20House%20at%20%2410.4%20billion. |website=Reuters |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240330192540/https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0Y92BR/ |archive-date= 30 March 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Tracy |first=Marc |date=2021-10-06 |title=Barry Diller's Dotdash Agrees to Buy Meredith, a Magazine Giant |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/06/business/media/dotdash-buys-meredith-magazines.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-03-28 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
On March 11, 2022, the merger was approved by Discovery's shareholders. Due to the structure of the merger, it does not require separate approval from AT&T shareholders.<ref>{{cite web |last=Goldsmith |first=Jill |date=February 10, 2022 |title=Discovery Sets March 11 For Shareholder Vote On WarnerMedia Merger |url=https://deadline.com/2022/02/discovery-warnermedia-shareholder-vote-merger-1234931163/ |access-date=February 10, 2022 |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |publisher=[[Penske Media Corporation]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Discovery Shareholders Approve $43 Billion WarnerMedia Merger |url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/discovery-warnermedia-merger-approvbed-investor-vote-1235201881/ |access-date=Mar 11, 2022 |website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |publisher=[[Penske Media Corporation]]}}</ref> In an [[SEC filing]] on March 25, 2022, AT&T stated that two-way trading of WBD stock with that of AT&T would begin on April 4, 2022, and that a special dividend will be issued the next day to give AT&T shareholders a 0.24 share in WBD for each share of AT&T common stock they hold. The filing does not include a specific consummation date.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hayes |first=Dade |date=2022-03-25 |title=AT&T Sets More Details For WarnerMedia Spinoff Ahead Of Discovery Merger |url=https://deadline.com/2022/03/att-spinoff-details-warnermedia-discovery-merger-1234987215/ |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref> On April 6, 2022, ''Variety'' reported that the merger could be completed as early as April 8.<ref>{{cite web|last=Mass |first=Jennifer|date=April 5, 2022|title=Discovery-WarnerMedia Merger Could Close as Early as This Friday (EXCLUSIVE)|url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/discovery-warnermedia-merger-friday-close-1235225258/https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/discovery-warnermedia-merger-friday-close-1235225258/|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|publisher=[[Penske Media Corporation]]|access-date=April 6, 2022|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20220406062156/https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/discovery-warnermedia-merger-friday-close-1235225258/|archive-date=April 6, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="wbdlaunch" />


In 2018, Discovery Communications and [[AT&T]] acquired Scripps Networks Interactive and Time Warner, and were renamed to Discovery, Inc. and WarnerMedia respectively. In 2019, AT&T dissolved the Turner Broadcasting System as part of its reorganization of its media assets.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Ho |first1=Rodney |last2=Kempner |first2=Matt |title=AT&T's WarnerMedia restructuring breaks apart Turner Broadcasting |url=https://www.ajc.com/blog/radiotvtalk/warnermedia-restructuring-breaks-turner-broadcasting/jIQG40OYSyGDyOJaOfsXLP/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Georgia Entertainment Scene (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution) |language=English}}</ref>
=== Integration of HBO Max and Discovery+ ===
In November 2021 during an earnings call, Discovery Streaming CEO JB Perrette discussed possible options for its [[Discovery+]] streaming service post-merger, including bundling the service with HBO Max and eventually merging them under a single platform with a mixture of both companies' technologies. He also noted that WBD may prioritize launching Discovery+ and HBO Max as a unified platform in markets where Discovery+ has yet to launch, such as another parts of Asia-Pacific.<ref>{{cite web |last=Bunson |first=Ben |date=November 3, 2021 |title=Discovery+, HBO Max may bundle before combining after merger |url=https://www.fiercevideo.com/video/discovery-hbo-max-may-bundle-combining-after-merger |access-date=November 11, 2021 |work=FierceVideo}}</ref> On March 14, 2022, Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels—who will assume the same position post-merger—confirmed that such a transition was a long-term goal.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Maas |first=Jennifer |date=2022-03-14 |title=HBO Max and Discovery Plus Will Be Combined Into One Platform |url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/hbo-max-discovery-plus-combined-streaming-service-bundle-1235204060/ |access-date=2022-03-16 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>


==Future assets==
== History ==
=== Formation and beginning of operations (2021–2022) ===
{{col-begin}}
[[File:Warner Bros. Discovery initial wordmark.png|thumb|The company's initial wordmark logo]]
{{col-2}}
===WarnerMedia===
{{Main|List of WarnerMedia subsidiaries}}
* [[Adult Swim]]
* [[Alloy Entertainment]]
* [[Avalanche Software]]
* [[Bleacher Report]]
* [[Boing (TV channel)|Boing]]
* [[Boomerang (TV network)|Boomerang]]
* [[Cartoon Network]]
* [[Cartoon Network Studios]]
* [[Castle Rock Entertainment]]
* [[Cartoonito]]
* [[Cinemax]]
* [[CNN]]
* [[CNN+]]
* [[DC Comics]]
* [[Glitz (TV channel)|Glitz]]
* [[Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe]]
* [[HBO]]
* [[HBO Max]]
* [[HLN (TV network)|HLN]]
* [[HTV (Latin America)|HTV]]
* [[I.Sat]]
* [[IStreamPlanet]]
* [[LTS Garðbær Studios|Lazytown Entertainment]]
* [[Mad Magazine]]
* [[Monolith Productions]]
* [[NetherRealm Studios]]
* [[New Line Cinema]]
* [[Oh!K]]
* [[Ole Distribution]] (joint venture)
* [[Otter Media]]
* [[Pogo (TV channel)|Pogo]]
* [[Portkey Games]]
* [[Rocksteady Studios]]
* [[Space (Latin American TV channel)|Space]]
* [[Studio Distribution Services]] (50%)
* [[TBS (American TV channel)|TBS]]
* [[Telepictures]]
* [[The CW]] (50%)
* [[The Wolper Organization]]
* [[Toonami]]
* [[Tooncast]]
* [[TNT (American TV network)|TNT]]
* [[TruTV]]
* [[Turner Classic Movies]]
* [[Turner Entertainment|Turner Entertainment Co.]]
* [[Turner Sports]]
* [[TT Games]]
* [[Warner Animation Group]]
* [[Warner Bros.]]
* [[Warner Bros. Animation]]
* [[Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment]]
* [[Warner TV]]
* [[WaterTower Music]]
* [[Williams Street]]
* [[World Heritage Channel]]
{{col-2}}


On May 16, 2021, [[Bloomberg News]] reported that AT&T was considering an offer to divest equity interest in their media subsidiary [[WarnerMedia]] (the former Time Warner, which AT&T acquired in 2018 for just over $85&nbsp;billion in an attempt to become a [[Vertical integration|vertically integrated]] [[media conglomerate]]), and have it merge with [[Discovery, Inc.]] to form a new publicly traded company.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hammond|first1=Ed|title=AT&T Is Preparing to Merge Media Assets With Discovery|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-16/at-t-is-said-in-talks-to-combine-content-assets-with-discovery-kor6r2uj |url-access=subscription |agency=[[Bloomberg News]]|access-date=June 2, 2021|date=May 16, 2021|archive-date=May 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516131839/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-16/at-t-is-said-in-talks-to-combine-content-assets-with-discovery-kor6r2uj|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Sherman|first1=Alex|title=AT&T in advanced talks to merge WarnerMedia with Discovery, deal expected as soon as Monday|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/16/att-in-advanced-talks-to-merge-warnermedia-with-discovery.html|website=[[CNBC]]|access-date=June 2, 2021|date=May 16, 2021|archive-date=May 31, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531031836/https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/16/att-in-advanced-talks-to-merge-warnermedia-with-discovery.html|url-status=live}}</ref> AT&T and Discovery officially confirmed the agreement the next day; the merger would be structured as a [[Reverse Morris Trust]], with AT&T shareholders holding a 71% interest in the new company's stock and appointing seven board members, and Discovery shareholders holding a 29% interest and appointing six board members. AT&T would receive US$43&nbsp;billion in cash and debt from the divestment. The merger was expected to be completed in mid-2022.<ref name="bloomberg-05-21">{{cite news|last1=Hammond|first1=Ed|last2=Turner|first2=Nick|title=AT&T's WarnerMedia, Discovery to Merge in Blockbuster Deal|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-17/at-t-to-merge-media-assets-with-discovery-in-43-billion-deal|agency=[[Bloomberg News]]|access-date=June 2, 2021|date=May 17, 2021|archive-date=March 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324001256/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-17/at-t-to-merge-media-assets-with-discovery-in-43-billion-deal|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="cnbc-05-17">{{cite web|last1=Kovach|first1=Steve|last2=Meredith|first2=Sam|title=AT&T announces $43 billion deal to merge WarnerMedia with Discovery|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/17/att-to-combine-warnermedia-and-discovery-assets-to-create-a-new-standalone-company.html|website=[[CNBC]]|access-date=June 2, 2021|date=May 17, 2021|archive-date=January 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120133629/https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/17/att-to-combine-warnermedia-and-discovery-assets-to-create-a-new-standalone-company.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Hayes|first1=Dade|title=David Zaslav And John Stankey Outline Plans For Merging Discovery And WarnerMedia, Addressing Future Of Jason Kilar, CNN, Streaming|url=https://deadline.com/2021/05/discovery-warnermedia-att-merger-streaming-david-zaslav-1234758225|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|access-date=June 2, 2021|date=May 17, 2021|archive-date=June 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220604175217/https://deadline.com/2021/05/discovery-warnermedia-att-merger-streaming-david-zaslav-1234758225/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===Discovery, Inc.===
{{Main|Discovery, Inc.#Divisions}}
* [[All3Media]] (50%)
* [[American Heroes Channel]]
* [[Animal Planet]]
* [[Asian Food Network]]
* [[Bravo (New Zealand TV channel)|Bravo New Zealand]] (joint venture)
* [[Breeze TV]]
* [[Cooking Channel]] (69%)
* [[Destination America]]
* [[Discovery+]]
* [[Discovery Channel]]
* Discovery Digital Studios
* [[Discovery Familia]]
* [[Discovery Family]] (60%)
* [[Discovery Home & Health]]
* [[Discovery Kids (Indian TV channel)|Discovery Kids India]]
* [[Discovery Kids (Latin American TV channel)|Discovery Kids Latin America]]
* [[Discovery Kids]]
* [[Discovery Life]]
* [[Discovery Turbo]]
* [[DMAX (TV channel)|DMAX]]
* [[DTX (TV channel)|DTX]]
* [[Eden (New Zealand TV channel)|Eden]]
* [[Eurosport]]
* [[Fatafeat]]
* [[Food Network]] (69%)
* [[Frisbee (TV channel)|Frisbee]]
* [[Golf Digest]]
* [[GolfTV]]
* [[Golf World]]
* [[HGTV]]
* [[Hogar de HGTV]]
* [[Investigation Discovery]]
* [[K2 (TV channel)|K2]]
* [[Living (New Zealand)|Living]]
* [[Magnolia Network]] (majority stake)
* [[Motor Trend (TV network)|Motor Trend]] (50%)
* [[Motor Trend Group]]
* [[Oprah Winfrey Network|OWN]] (95%)
* [[Philo (company)|Philo]] (joint venture)
* [[Quest (British TV channel)|Quest]]
* [[Rachael Ray (talk show)|Rachael Ray Entertainment]]
* [[Really (TV channel)|Really]]
* [[Rush (TV channel)|Rush]]
* [[Science Channel]]
* [[Tele 5]]
* [[The Edge TV]]
* [[Three (TV channel)|Three]]
* [[TLC (TV network)|TLC]]
* [[Travel Channel]]
* [[TVN Group]]
{{col-end}}


The new company would be led by Discovery's current CEO, [[David Zaslav]]; WarnerMedia's CEO [[Jason Kilar]]'s position in the new company was uncertain.<ref name="bloomberg-05-21"/> Zaslav stated that the two companies would spend a combined US$20&nbsp;billion annually on content (outpacing even [[Netflix, Inc.|Netflix]]). The company will aim to expand their streaming services, which includes WarnerMedia's [[Max (streaming service)|Max]], to reach 400 million global subscribers.<ref name="cnbc-05-17"/> It was stated that the company would aim to achieve $3&nbsp;billion in cost savings via synergies within two years.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Weprin|first=Alex|date=May 26, 2021|title=Discovery-WarnerMedia's $3B in Cost-Savings: Where Will That Come From?|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/discovery-warnermedia-3-billion-in-cost-savings-1234959073/|access-date=May 12, 2022|website=The Hollywood Reporter|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512070141/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/discovery-warnermedia-3-billion-in-cost-savings-1234959073/|url-status=live}}</ref>
== Future leadership ==

{{col-begin}}
On June 1, 2021, it was announced that the merged company would be known as Warner Bros. Discovery, and an interim [[wordmark]] was unveiled with the tagline "The stuff that dreams are made of"—a quote from the 1941 Warner Bros. film ''[[The Maltese Falcon (1941 film)|The Maltese Falcon]]'', itself paraphrasing Shakespeare's ''[[The Tempest]]''. Zaslav explained that the company aimed to be the "most innovative, exciting and fun place to tell stories in the world", and would combine Warner Bros.' "fabled hundred-year legacy of creative, authentic storytelling and taking bold risks to bring the most amazing stories to life" with Discovery's "integrity, innovation and inspiration."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Palmeri|first1=Christopher|title=Warner Bros. Discovery Will Be Name of Company Shorn From AT&T|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-01/warner-bros-discovery-will-be-name-of-company-shorn-from-at-t|website=[[Bloomberg News]]|access-date=June 2, 2021|date=June 1, 2021|archive-date=March 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324001303/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-01/warner-bros-discovery-will-be-name-of-company-shorn-from-at-t|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Goldsmith|first1=Jill|title=Warner Bros. Discovery Set As Name Of Merged Company|url=https://deadline.com/2021/06/discovery-merged-company-to-be-called-warner-bros-discovery-1234767195|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|access-date=June 2, 2021|date=June 1, 2021|archive-date=May 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220503030519/https://deadline.com/2021/06/discovery-merged-company-to-be-called-warner-bros-discovery-1234767195/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
{{col-2}}

;Board of Directors<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vlessing |first=Etan |date=2022-03-15 |title=AT&T Names Warner Bros. Discovery Board Appointees, Including Ex-BET Chief Debra Lee |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/att-names-warner-bros-discovery-board-appointees-including-ex-bet-chief-debra-lee-1235112060/ |access-date=2022-04-07 |website=Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref>
In an [[SEC Filing]] on November 18, 2021, Discovery revealed that talks with AT&T had fallen through, in April 2021, due to disagreements over the ownership of the new company between AT&T and Discovery shareholders, and the amount of debt transferred to Discovery when they merged with WarnerMedia, before talks resumed on May 17, 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001437107/4f537adb-6668-4818-89fd-c46d1f111912.pdf|title=Form S-4 Registration Statement|publisher=[[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]]|date=November 18, 2021|access-date=April 24, 2022|archive-date=November 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211120021321/https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001437107/4f537adb-6668-4818-89fd-c46d1f111912.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Samuel DiPiazza|Samuel A. DiPiazza, Jr.]] (chairman)

* [[Robert R. Bennett|Robert Bennett]]
In November 2021, during an earnings call, Discovery Streaming CEO JB Perrette discussed possible options for its [[Discovery+]] streaming service post-merger, including bundling the service with HBO Max and eventually merging them under a single platform with a mixture of both companies' technologies. He also noted that WBD may prioritize launching Discovery+ and HBO Max as a unified platform in markets where Discovery+ has yet to launch, such as another parts of the Asia-Pacific.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bunson|first=Ben|date=November 3, 2021|title=Discovery+, HBO Max may bundle before combining after merger|url=https://www.fiercevideo.com/video/discovery-hbo-max-may-bundle-combining-after-merger|access-date=November 11, 2021|work=FierceVideo|archive-date=November 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111192746/https://www.fiercevideo.com/video/discovery-hbo-max-may-bundle-combining-after-merger|url-status=live}}</ref> On March 14, 2022, Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels—who would assume the same position post-merger—confirmed that such a transition was a long-term goal.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Maas|first=Jennifer|date=March 14, 2022|title=HBO Max and Discovery Plus Will Be Combined Into One Platform|url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/hbo-max-discovery-plus-combined-streaming-service-bundle-1235204060/|access-date=March 16, 2022|website=Variety|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317034833/https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/hbo-max-discovery-plus-combined-streaming-service-bundle-1235204060/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On December 22, 2021, the transaction was approved by the [[European Commission]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Discovery-WarnerMedia Merger Gets European Union Approval|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/discovery-warnermedia-merger-gets-european-union-approval-1235066577/|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|last=Vlessing|first=Etan|date=December 22, 2021|access-date=December 22, 2021|archive-date=May 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526171447/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/discovery-warnermedia-merger-gets-european-union-approval-1235066577/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=European Commission grants approval for Discovery acquisition of WarnerMedia|url=https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/european-commission-grants-approval-discovery-acquisition-warnermedia-2021-12-22/|work=[[Reuters]]|date=December 22, 2021|access-date=December 22, 2021|archive-date=May 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526082143/https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/european-commission-grants-approval-discovery-acquisition-warnermedia-2021-12-22/|url-status=live}}</ref> On January 5, 2022, ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' reported that WarnerMedia and [[Paramount Global]] (at the time named ViacomCBS) were exploring a possible sale of either a majority stake or all of [[The CW]], and that [[Nexstar Media Group]] was considered a leading bidder.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/warnermedia-and-viacomcbs-are-exploring-possible-sale-of-cw-network-11641436892|title=WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS Are Exploring Possible Sale of CW Network|last=Flint|first=Joe|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=January 5, 2022|access-date=January 6, 2022|archive-date=January 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220106024412/https://www.wsj.com/articles/warnermedia-and-viacomcbs-are-exploring-possible-sale-of-cw-network-11641436892|url-status=live}}</ref> The reports also indicated that WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS could include a contractual commitment that would require any new owner to buy new programming from those companies, allowing them to reap some continual revenue through the network.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/the-cw-sale-may-kill-original-programming-report/|title=REPORT: The CW's Potential Sale May Kill Its Original Programming|last=Farley|first=Ashley|work=Comic Book Resources|date=January 13, 2022|access-date=January 14, 2022|archive-date=January 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220114161425/https://www.cbr.com/the-cw-sale-may-kill-original-programming-report/|url-status=live}}</ref> The CW's then-president-and-CEO [[Mark Pedowitz]] confirmed talks of a potential sale in a memo to CW staffers, but added that "It's too early to speculate what might happen."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Goldberg|first1=Lesley|last2=Weprin|first2=Alex|date=January 6, 2022|title=ViacomCBS and WarnerMedia Exploring Sale of The CW|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/the-cw-for-sale-warnermedia-viacomcbs-1235070616/|access-date=January 9, 2022|work=The Hollywood Reporter|archive-date=January 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220106130003/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/the-cw-for-sale-warnermedia-viacomcbs-1235070616/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2022/01/the-cw-sale-warnermedia-viacomcbs-nexstar-1234905157|title=The CW CEO Mark Pedowitz Confirms WarnerMedia & ViacomCBS Exploring "Strategic Opportunities" As Majority Stake In Network Is Shopped With Nexstar Among Suitors – Update|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|work=Deadline Hollywood|date=January 6, 2022|access-date=January 6, 2022|archive-date=January 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220106063426/https://deadline.com/2022/01/the-cw-sale-warnermedia-viacomcbs-nexstar-1234905157/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On January 26, 2022, AT&T CEO [[John Stankey]] stated that the merger was expected to close sometime during the second quarter of 2022.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/warnermedia-and-discovery-merger-now-expected-to-close-this-spring/|title=WarnerMedia and Discovery Merger Now Expected to Close This Spring|last=Hepburn|first=Tmera|website=Cord Cutters News|date=January 26, 2022|access-date=January 27, 2022|archive-date=January 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126211826/https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/warnermedia-and-discovery-merger-now-expected-to-close-this-spring/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.c21media.net/news/warnermedia-discovery-merger-expected-to-close-in-q2-says-atts-stankey/|title=WarnerMedia-Discovery merger expected to close in Q2, says AT&T's Stankey|last=Pinto|first=Jordan|website=C21 Media|date=January 27, 2022|access-date=January 27, 2022|archive-date=January 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127082812/https://www.c21media.net/news/warnermedia-discovery-merger-expected-to-close-in-q2-says-atts-stankey/|url-status=live}}</ref> On February 1, 2022, it was reported that AT&T had finalized the structure of the merger: WarnerMedia would be spun off [[pro rata]] to AT&T's shareholders, and then merge into Discovery Inc. to form the new company.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2022/biz/news/att-spin-off-warnermedia-43-billion-deal-1235168480/|title=AT&T Sets Plan to Spin Off WarnerMedia in $43 Billion Deal|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|publisher=[[Penske Media Corporation]]|last=Spangler|first=Todd|date=February 1, 2022|access-date=February 1, 2022|archive-date=February 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201120629/https://variety.com/2022/biz/news/att-spin-off-warnermedia-43-billion-deal-1235168480/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/att-warnermedia-spin-off-discovery-merger-1235084978/|title=AT&T Picks WarnerMedia Spin-Off as Structure for Key Step in Discovery Merger|last=Szalai|first=George|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|publisher=[[Penske Media Corporation]]|date=February 1, 2022|access-date=February 1, 2022|archive-date=February 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201120404/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/att-warnermedia-spin-off-discovery-merger-1235084978/|url-status=live}}</ref> The transaction was approved by the Brazilian antitrust regulator [[Administrative Council for Economic Defense|Cade]] on February 7,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://noticiasdatv.uol.com.br/noticia/mercado/cade-surpreende-e-aprova-fusao-discoverywarnermedia-sem-restricoes-no-brasil-74806|title=Cade surpreende e aprova fusão Discovery/WarnerMedia sem restrições|website=Notícias da TV|date=February 7, 2022|language=pt|access-date=February 9, 2022|archive-date=February 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209193522/https://noticiasdatv.uol.com.br/noticia/mercado/cade-surpreende-e-aprova-fusao-discoverywarnermedia-sem-restricoes-no-brasil-74806|url-status=live}}</ref> followed by the [[United States Department of Justice]] on February 9.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001437107/000143710722000018/disca-20220209.htm|title=Form 8-K|publisher=[[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]] & [[Discovery, Inc.|Discovery Inc.]]|date=February 9, 2021|access-date=April 24, 2022|archive-date=May 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220503075126/https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001437107/000143710722000018/disca-20220209.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> On March 11, 2022, the merger was approved by Discovery's shareholders. Due to the structure of the merger, it did not require separate approval from AT&T shareholders.<ref>{{cite web|last=Goldsmith|first=Jill|date=February 10, 2022|title=Discovery Sets March 11 For Shareholder Vote On WarnerMedia Merger|url=https://deadline.com/2022/02/discovery-warnermedia-shareholder-vote-merger-1234931163/|access-date=February 10, 2022|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|publisher=[[Penske Media Corporation]]|archive-date=May 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526082143/https://deadline.com/2022/02/discovery-warnermedia-shareholder-vote-merger-1234931163/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Discovery Shareholders Approve $43 Billion WarnerMedia Merger|url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/discovery-warnermedia-merger-approvbed-investor-vote-1235201881/|access-date=March 11, 2022|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=March 11, 2022|publisher=[[Penske Media Corporation]]|archive-date=May 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526195259/https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/discovery-warnermedia-merger-approvbed-investor-vote-1235201881/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Warner Bros. Discovery (symbol).svg|thumb|200px|Textless version of the Warner Bros. Discovery logo.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cghnyc.com/work/project/warnerbros|title=Warner Bros. Family of Brands|date=May 3, 2023|publisher=Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv|access-date=June 30, 2024}}</ref> It is based on the 1999 variant of the 1998 [[Warner Bros. Pictures]] on-screen logo.]]
In an SEC filing on March 25, 2022, AT&T stated that two-way trading of WBD stock with that of AT&T would begin on April 4, 2022, and that a special dividend would be issued the next day to give AT&T shareholders a 0.24 share in WBD for each share of AT&T common stock they hold.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/000732717/000119312522085220/d284241d8k.htm|title=Form 8-K|publisher=[[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]] & AT&T|date=March 25, 2022|access-date=April 24, 2022|archive-date=April 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220424012716/https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/000732717/000119312522085220/d284241d8k.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=|first1=|title=AT&T Announces Details for Completion of Spin-Off Ahead of Close of WarnerMedia Transaction|url=https://about.att.com/story/2022/details-for-completion-of-warnermedia-spinoff.html|website=AT&T|access-date=April 24, 2022|date=March 25, 2022|archive-date=March 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220325234650/https://about.att.com/story/2022/details-for-completion-of-warnermedia-spinoff.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The merger was officially completed on April 8, 2022, with trading beginning on the [[Nasdaq]] on April 11.<ref name="wbdlaunch">{{cite web|last=Maas|first=Jennifer|date=April 8, 2022|title=Discovery Closes Acquisition of AT&T's WarnerMedia|url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/discovery-warnermedia-merger-close-warner-bros-discovery-1235200983/|access-date=April 8, 2022|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|publisher=[[Penske Media Corporation]]|archive-date=April 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408211723/https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/discovery-warnermedia-merger-close-warner-bros-discovery-1235200983/|url-status=live}}</ref> At this time the company unveiled its final logo, designed by [[Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv]], which features a rendition of Warner Bros.' long-time shield logo.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Rachel|last=Del Valle|date=April 23, 2022|title=After embarrassing leak, Warner Bros. Discovery gets a modern new logo|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90743463/after-embarrassing-leak-warner-brothers-discovery-gets-a-modern-new-logo|website=[[Fast Company]]|access-date=July 2, 2022|archive-date=June 29, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629154402/https://www.fastcompany.com/90743463/after-embarrassing-leak-warner-brothers-discovery-gets-a-modern-new-logo|url-status=live}}</ref>

The combined company retained several top executives from WarnerMedia, including film and television heads [[Toby Emmerich]] and [[Channing Dungey]], and HBO and HBO Max [[chief content officer]] (CCO) Casey Bloys. Most of the company's top executive roles are filled by their Discovery counterparts, including Gunnar Wiedenfels as Warner Bros. Discovery's chief financial officer (CFO), JB Perrette as president and CEO of global streaming and interactive, and Discovery's chief lifestyle brands officer [[Kathleen Finch]]—whose role has been expanded to cover most of the combined company's U.S. linear networks, besides [[CNN]] (which was taken over by [[Chris Licht]], replacing the outgoing [[Jeff Zucker]]), [[Magnolia Network]] (which reports to Bloys, after having previously reported directly to Zaslav under Discovery), and the [[Turner Sports]] unit (which would be overseen by the newly-formed Warner Bros. Discovery Sports division).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|date=April 9, 2022|title=Chip & Joanna Gaines' Road From HGTV To HBO As 'Fixer Upper' Stars Switch Sides Post-WB/Discovery Merger|url=https://deadline.com/2022/04/chip-joanna-gaines-hgtv-hbo-fixer-upper-warner-bros-discovery-merger-1234997644/|access-date=April 9, 2022|website=Deadline|archive-date=April 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220409013708/https://deadline.com/2022/04/chip-joanna-gaines-hgtv-hbo-fixer-upper-warner-bros-discovery-merger-1234997644/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Looks">{{Cite web|last=Maas|first=Jennifer|date=April 8, 2022|title=What Warner Bros. Discovery Looks Like on Day 1|url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/warner-bros-discovery-brands-channels-properties-1235211353/|access-date=April 9, 2022|website=Variety|archive-date=May 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220503163453/https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/warner-bros-discovery-brands-channels-properties-1235211353/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Hayes|first=Dade|date=April 9, 2022|title=Warner Bros Discovery Merger: Who's In, Who's Out In The Executive Ranks|url=https://deadline.com/2022/04/warner-bros-discovery-executives-list-org-chart-merger-1234997658/|access-date=April 9, 2022|website=Deadline|archive-date=April 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220409001506/https://deadline.com/2022/04/warner-bros-discovery-executives-list-org-chart-merger-1234997658/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In an introductory town hall featuring [[Oprah Winfrey]] as host, Zaslav stated that the combined company would need to have "one culture" that "starts with people feeling safe, people feeling valued for who they are", as opposed what he described as a culture of internal competition between WarnerMedia's businesses.<ref>{{Cite web|date=April 14, 2022|title=Warner Bros Discovery Town Hall: CEO David Zaslav Tells Oprah Winfrey How Merger Came Together, Addresses CNN's Future, Looming Staff Cuts|url=https://deadline.com/2022/04/warner-bros-discovery-town-hall-details-david-zaslav-oprah-winfrey-1235002338/|access-date=April 14, 2022|website=Deadline|archive-date=April 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220414010644/https://deadline.com/2022/04/warner-bros-discovery-town-hall-details-david-zaslav-oprah-winfrey-1235002338/|url-status=live}}</ref> He also expected that "investment avoidance" via the consolidation of redundant business units (such as streaming) and staff would be one of the main ways that the company would achieve its promised $3&nbsp;billion in cost savings.<ref>{{Cite web|date=April 14, 2022|title=Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav on $3 Billion in Cuts: 'We Don't Know Exactly How It's Going to Work'|url=https://www.thewrap.com/warner-bros-discovery-ceo-david-zaslav-on-3-billion-in-cuts-we-dont-know-exactly-how-its-going-to-work/|access-date=May 12, 2022|website=The Wrap|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512070141/https://www.thewrap.com/warner-bros-discovery-ceo-david-zaslav-on-3-billion-in-cuts-we-dont-know-exactly-how-its-going-to-work/|url-status=live}}</ref> On April 21, 2022, Licht and Perrette announced the shutdown of CNN's streaming service [[CNN+]], which had only launched two weeks prior to the completion of the merger; the new leadership considered it to be incompatible with their goal of a unified streaming service for all WBD properties.<ref>{{Cite web|author1=Oliver Darcy|author2=Brian Stetler|title=CNN+ will shut down at the end of April|url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/21/media/cnn-shutting-down/index.html|access-date=April 21, 2022|website=CNN|date=April 21, 2022|archive-date=April 21, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421155526/https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/21/media/cnn-shutting-down/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="cnbc-2022-04-21">{{cite web|last=Sherman|first=Alex|date=April 21, 2022|title=CNN+ is shutting down, effective April 30, sources say|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/21/cnn-is-shutting-down-effective-april-30-sources-say.html|access-date=April 21, 2022|website=CNBC|archive-date=May 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506183631/https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/21/cnn-is-shutting-down-effective-april-30-sources-say.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="nytimes-2022-04-21">{{Cite news|last1=Grynbaum|first1=Michael|last2=Koblin|first2=John|last3=Mullin|first3=Benjamin|date=April 21, 2022|title=CNN+ Streaming Service Is Set to Shut Down|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/21/business/cnn-plus-shutting-down.html|access-date=April 21, 2022|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=April 21, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421155004/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/21/business/cnn-plus-shutting-down.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In an investors' call on April 26 (concurrent with the first quarter earnings reports for Discovery Inc., its last prior to the merger), Zaslav contrasted the company's streaming businesses with those of Netflix (whose stock saw a decline after a quarterly loss in subscribers), describing Warner Bros. Discovery as being a "far more balanced and competitive company" that would "invest at scale smartly" and not "overspend" on growth and that its streaming businesses would complement its linear television. He stated that HBO Max had "meaningful subscriber [[Churn rate|churn]]", and that the planned merger of it with Discovery+ would help to reduce it by offering a broader array of content.<ref>{{Cite web|date=April 26, 2022|title=Discovery Hit 24M Streaming Subscribers at End of March Before WarnerMedia Merger|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/discovery-streaming-subscribers-first-quarter-earnings-1235134666/|access-date=April 28, 2022|website=The Hollywood Reporter|archive-date=April 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220428035949/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/discovery-streaming-subscribers-first-quarter-earnings-1235134666/|url-status=live}}</ref> It was reported that the company had also suspended scripted development at [[TBS (American TV channel)|TBS]] and [[TNT (American TV network)|TNT]], to evaluate their strategies moving forward.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Otterson|first1=Jennifer Maas, Joe|last2=Maas|first2=Jennifer|last3=Otterson|first3=Joe|date=April 26, 2022|title=Warner Bros. Discovery Cuts Scripted Programming Development at TBS, TNT (EXCLUSIVE)|url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/tnt-tbs-scripted-programming-development-scrapped-warner-bros-discovery-1235241348/|access-date=May 12, 2022|website=Variety|archive-date=May 18, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518211407/https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/tnt-tbs-scripted-programming-development-scrapped-warner-bros-discovery-1235241348/|url-status=live}}</ref> The following day, Zaslav purchased approximately $1&nbsp;million worth of WBD stock.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Huston|first=Caitlin|date=April 27, 2022|title=David Zaslav Buys $1M in Warner Bros. Discovery Shares|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/david-zaslav-buys-1m-in-warner-bros-discovery-shares-1235136767/|access-date=April 28, 2022|website=The Hollywood Reporter|archive-date=April 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427231557/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/david-zaslav-buys-1m-in-warner-bros-discovery-shares-1235136767/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On May 11, 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery eliminated several executive positions carried over from WarnerMedia, including [[Warner Bros. Television Studios#Warner Bros. Kids, Young Adults and Classics|Kids, Young Adults and Classics]] head [[Tom Ascheim]], and general manager of TBS, TNT, and [[TruTV]] head Brett Weitz. These networks would be overseen by Finch as head of U.S. Networks, while the studios under the Kids, Young Adults and Classics division ([[Warner Bros. Animation]], [[Cartoon Network Studios]] and [[Williams Street]]) was moved under [[Warner Bros. Television Studios|Warner Bros. Television]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|date=May 12, 2022|title=Tom Ascheim Exits As President Of Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classic|url=https://deadline.com/2022/05/tom-ascheim-exits-warner-bros-president-global-kids-young-adults-and-classics-1235021790/|access-date=May 12, 2022|website=Deadline|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512000441/https://deadline.com/2022/05/tom-ascheim-exits-warner-bros-president-global-kids-young-adults-and-classics-1235021790/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|date=May 12, 2022|title=Johanna Fuentes Departs As Head of Global Communications Studios & Networks Group At Warner Bros. Discovery|url=https://deadline.com/2022/05/johanna-fuentes-exit-head-of-global-communications-warner-bros-discovery-1235021818/|access-date=May 12, 2022|website=Deadline|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512001352/https://deadline.com/2022/05/johanna-fuentes-exit-head-of-global-communications-warner-bros-discovery-1235021818/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|date=May 11, 2022|title=Brett Weitz Exits As General Manager Of TNT, TBS & truTV|url=https://deadline.com/2022/05/brett-weitz-exit-general-manager-tnt-tbs-trutv-1235011472/|access-date=May 12, 2022|website=Deadline|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512004311/https://deadline.com/2022/05/brett-weitz-exit-general-manager-tnt-tbs-trutv-1235011472/|url-status=live}}</ref> The same day, it announced an agreement with British telecom company [[BT Group]] for it to contribute its [[BT Sport]] channels into a 50/50 joint venture with its UK [[Eurosport]] channels, and eventually merge them.<ref name=":22">{{Cite web|last=Davis|first=Rebecca|date=January 13, 2022|title=DAZN Nears Estimated $800 Million Deal to Acquire BT Sport|url=https://variety.com/2022/sports/news/dazn-nears-bt-sport-deal-1235153430/|access-date=May 14, 2022|website=Variety|language=en-US|archive-date=May 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220514011515/https://variety.com/2022/sports/news/dazn-nears-bt-sport-deal-1235153430/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Metz|first1=Axel|date=May 12, 2022|title=BT Sport subscribers to get major package upgrade completely free of charge|publisher=TechRadar|url=https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/bt-sport-subscribers-to-get-major-package-upgrade-completely-free-of-charge|access-date=May 12, 2022|archive-date=May 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512105201/https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/bt-sport-subscribers-to-get-major-package-upgrade-completely-free-of-charge|url-status=live}}</ref>

On June 1, 2022, Warner Bros. Pictures head [[Toby Emmerich]] announced that he would step down and establish a new studio, which will be funded by and have an exclusive, five-year distribution deal with Warner Bros. Pictures.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=D'Alessandro|first1=Anthony|last2=Fleming|first2=Mike Jr.|date=June 1, 2022|title=Toby Emmerich Out As Warner Bros Motion Picture Group Chairman; Michael De Luca & Pam Abdy To Lead Studio|url=https://deadline.com/2022/06/toby-emmerich-warner-bros-departure-1235036598/|access-date=2022-09-28|website=Deadline|language=en-US|archive-date=October 21, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221021094942/https://deadline.com/2022/06/toby-emmerich-warner-bros-departure-1235036598/|url-status=live}}</ref> Warner Bros. Pictures was then divided into three business units with their own leadership: former [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]] executives [[Michael De Luca]] and [[Pamela Abdy]] became the co-chairs of [[Warner Bros. Pictures]] and [[New Line Cinema]], and temporarily oversaw the [[DC Films]] and [[Warner Animation Group]] units.<ref>{{Cite web|date=June 1, 2022|title=Toby Emmerich Out As Warner Bros Motion Picture Group Chairman; Michael De Luca & Pam Abdy To Lead Studio|url=https://deadline.com/2022/06/toby-emmerich-warner-bros-departure-1235036598/|access-date=June 2, 2022|website=Deadline|language=en-US|archive-date=October 21, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221021094942/https://deadline.com/2022/06/toby-emmerich-warner-bros-departure-1235036598/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=D'Alessandro|first=Anthony|date=June 1, 2022|title=David Zaslav "Thrilled" Toby Emmerich Remaining Part Of Warner Bros Discovery Family, Outlines New Structure; De Luca & Abdy Made Official|url=https://deadline.com/2022/06/david-zaslav-thrilled-toby-emmerich-remaining-part-of-warner-discovery-family-outlines-new-studio-structure-1235036864/|access-date=June 2, 2022|website=Deadline|language=en-US|archive-date=June 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602011025/https://deadline.com/2022/06/david-zaslav-thrilled-toby-emmerich-remaining-part-of-warner-discovery-family-outlines-new-studio-structure-1235036864/|url-status=live}}</ref> Eight days later, WBD named former Discovery and [[Univision]] executive [[Luis Silberwasser]] as chairman of Sports.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Mullin|first1=Benjamin|last2=Draper|first2=Kevin|date=June 9, 2022|title=Warner Bros. Discovery Picks Sports Chief to Navigate Streaming Era|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/09/business/media/warner-bros-discovery-luis-silberwasser.html|access-date=June 9, 2022|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609143513/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/09/business/media/warner-bros-discovery-luis-silberwasser.html/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Steinberg|first=Brian|date=June 9, 2022|title=Warner Bros. Discovery Taps Luis Silberwasser as News Sports Chief|url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/luis-silberwasser-warner-bros-discovery-sports-1235289271/|access-date=June 9, 2022|website=Variety|language=en-US|archive-date=June 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609144808/https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/luis-silberwasser-warner-bros-discovery-sports-1235289271/|url-status=live}}</ref> In July 2022, [[Alan Horn]] rejoined Warner Bros. as a consultant.<ref>{{cite news|author=Kim Masters|date=July 28, 2022|title=Alan Horn on Rejoining Warner Bros.: "I See Myself as a Consigliere"|work=The Hollywood Reporter|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/alan-horn-on-rejoining-warner-bros-i-see-myself-as-a-consigliere-1235188546/|access-date=July 29, 2022|archive-date=July 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220728233457/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/alan-horn-on-rejoining-warner-bros-i-see-myself-as-a-consigliere-1235188546/|url-status=live}}</ref>

WBD delivered its second-quarter earnings report on August 4, 2022. Ahead of the report, the company performed multiple cuts to HBO Max throughout July and early-August, including cutting new programming development in much of Europe,<ref name="halt">{{Cite web|last=Ravindran|first=Manori|date=July 4, 2022|title=HBO Max Halts Originals in Parts of Europe in Major Restructure (EXCLUSIVE)|url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/global/hbo-max-europe-originals-development-1235308730/|access-date=2022-08-03|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|archive-date=July 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704235144/https://variety.com/2022/tv/global/hbo-max-europe-originals-development-1235308730/|url-status=live}}</ref> live-action children's programming development,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|date=July 29, 2022|title='Gordita Chronicles' Canceled As HBO Max Pulls Back On Live-Action Kids & Family Programming; Latinx Comedy Will Be Shopped|url=https://deadline.com/2022/07/gordita-chronicles-canceled-hbo-max-no-season-2-1235080860/|access-date=2022-08-04|website=Deadline|language=en-US|archive-date=August 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803154247/https://deadline.com/2022/07/gordita-chronicles-canceled-hbo-max-no-season-2-1235080860/|url-status=live}}</ref> and direct-to-streaming films—leading to the notable August 3 cancellations of the nearly-completed films ''[[Batgirl (film)|Batgirl]]'' and ''[[Scoob! Holiday Haunt]]'' as tax [[write-off]]s, and the quiet removals of multiple HBO Max original films from the platform and its upcoming releases.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Whitten|first=Sarah|title=Investors are looking to Warner Bros Discovery for a streaming strategy — it already gave us a big hint|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/04/warner-bros-discovery-streaming-strategy-in-focus-for-q2-earnings.html|access-date=2022-08-04|website=CNBC|date=August 4, 2022 |language=en|archive-date=August 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220804204620/https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/04/warner-bros-discovery-streaming-strategy-in-focus-for-q2-earnings.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the second quarter of 2022, WBD took $9.8&nbsp;billion in revenue and a net loss of $2.2&nbsp;billion [[pro forma]], primarily from integration and restructuring expenses. The company took $825&nbsp;million in write-offs on "content impairments and development".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Goldsmith|first=Jill|date=August 4, 2022|title=Warner Bros. Discovery Shares Slide 12% After Earnings Debut – Update|url=https://deadline.com/2022/08/warner-bros-discovery-hbo-hbomax-earnings-1235085245/|access-date=2022-08-05|website=Deadline|language=en-US|archive-date=August 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220805020154/https://deadline.com/2022/08/warner-bros-discovery-hbo-hbomax-earnings-1235085245/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Weprin|first=Alex|date=August 5, 2022|title=Warner Bros. Discovery Takes $825M Write-Down on Content Following High-Profile DC Axings and TBS-TNT Cancellations|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/warner-bros-discovery-takes-825m-writedown-on-content-1235192629/|access-date=2022-08-06|website=The Hollywood Reporter|language=en-US|archive-date=August 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220806200718/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/warner-bros-discovery-takes-825m-writedown-on-content-1235192629/|url-status=live}}</ref> The company confirmed cuts to children's programming development,<ref>{{Cite web|last=White|first=Peter|date=August 4, 2022|title=Warner Bros. Discovery Confirms Kids' Content Cuts|url=https://deadline.com/2022/08/warner-bros-discovery-kids-content-cuts-1235085523/|access-date=2022-08-05|website=Deadline|language=en-US|archive-date=August 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220805073852/https://deadline.com/2022/08/warner-bros-discovery-kids-content-cuts-1235085523/|url-status=live}}</ref> and abandoned the production of direct-to-streaming films for HBO Max—with Zaslav arguing that they lacked economic value and impact in comparison to theatrical releases. WBD renewed its contracts with Bloys and other key HBO executives, with Zaslav praising his performance as chief content officer.<ref>{{Cite web|last=White|first=Peter|date=August 4, 2022|title=Warner Bros. Discovery To "Spend Dramatically More" On HBO/HBO Max & "Lock Up" Majority Of Casey Bloys' Top Team|url=https://deadline.com/2022/08/warner-bros-discovery-spend-dramatically-more-on-hbo-1235085569/|access-date=2022-08-05|website=Deadline|language=en-US|archive-date=August 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220805020154/https://deadline.com/2022/08/warner-bros-discovery-spend-dramatically-more-on-hbo-1235085569/|url-status=live}}</ref> Zaslav stated that a "10-year plan" was in development for DC Films, modeled after those of [[Marvel Studios]],<ref>{{Cite web|last=D'Alessandro|first=Anthony|date=August 4, 2022|title=David Zaslav Talks DC "Ten Year Plan" In Wake of 'Batgirl' Axing; 'Flash' Still On Track For Release|url=https://deadline.com/2022/08/batgirl-axing-david-zaslav-dc-films-reset-1235085520/|access-date=2022-08-05|website=Deadline|language=en-US|archive-date=August 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220805020154/https://deadline.com/2022/08/batgirl-axing-david-zaslav-dc-films-reset-1235085520/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last1=Webb Mitovich |first1= Matt |first2=Keisha |last2=Hatchett |date=August 4, 2022|title=WBD Boss on ''Batgirl'' Cancellation: 'We're Not Going to Put a Movie Out Unless We Believe in It'|url=https://tvline.com/2022/08/04/why-batgirl-movie-was-cancelled-10-year-dc-films-plan/|access-date=2022-08-05|website=TVLine|language=en-US|archive-date=August 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220805020154/https://tvline.com/2022/08/04/why-batgirl-movie-was-cancelled-10-year-dc-films-plan/|url-status=live}}</ref> while Perrette stated that the planned merger of Discovery+ and HBO Max would occur by summer 2023 in the United States, with other markets to follow.<ref>{{Cite web|last=White|first=Peter|date=August 4, 2022|title=Warner Bros. Discovery: HBO Max & Discovery+ Combined Streamer To Launch In U.S. In Summer 2023|url=https://deadline.com/2022/08/warner-bros-discovery-hbo-max-discovery-combined-streamer-to-launch-in-u-s-in-summer-2023-1235085466/|access-date=2022-08-05|website=Deadline|language=en-US|archive-date=August 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220805010940/https://deadline.com/2022/08/warner-bros-discovery-hbo-max-discovery-combined-streamer-to-launch-in-u-s-in-summer-2023-1235085466/|url-status=live}}</ref>

HBO subsequently faced a reorganization on August 15 to dismantle most of HBO Max's autonomous units, with HBO Max's head of comedy Suzanna Makkos now reporting to HBO's head of comedy Amy Gravitt, and layoffs within HBO Max's non-scripted, live-action family entertainment, international originals, and casting units, as well as HBO's acquisitions unit.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|date=August 15, 2022|title=HBO/HBO Max Layoffs Hit Max Reality, Acquisitions, Casting & Int'l; Scripted Operation Gets Restructured|url=https://deadline.com/2022/08/hbo-max-layoffs-reality-amy-gravitt-sarah-aubrey-reorg-acquisitions-casting-international-1235091596/|access-date=2022-08-16|website=Deadline|language=en-US|archive-date=August 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220816014752/https://deadline.com/2022/08/hbo-max-layoffs-reality-amy-gravitt-sarah-aubrey-reorg-acquisitions-casting-international-1235091596/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|date=August 15, 2022|title=Casey Bloys Addresses HBO/Max Reorg, "Extremely Painful" Layoff Decisions In Memo|url=https://deadline.com/2022/08/casey-bloys-hbo-max-reorg-painful-layoff-decisions-1235092839/|access-date=2022-08-16|website=Deadline|language=en-US|archive-date=August 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220816014753/https://deadline.com/2022/08/casey-bloys-hbo-max-reorg-painful-layoff-decisions-1235092839/|url-status=live}}</ref> HBO Max also continued to remove and cancel some of its lesser-viewed original programming, particularly family-oriented and animated series.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Chapman|first=Wilson|date=August 18, 2022|title=HBO Max to Remove 36 Titles, Including 20 Originals, From Streaming|url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/hbo-max-originals-removed-1235344286/|access-date=2022-08-20|website=Variety|language=en-US|archive-date=August 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819020907/https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/hbo-max-originals-removed-1235344286/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Sherman|first=Alex|title=Here's why HBO Max is pulling dozens of films and TV series from the streaming platform|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/19/heres-why-hbo-max-is-pulling-dozens-of-films-and-tv-series-from-its-streaming-platform.html|access-date=2022-08-20|website=CNBC|date=August 19, 2022 |language=en|archive-date=August 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220820014429/https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/19/heres-why-hbo-max-is-pulling-dozens-of-films-and-tv-series-from-its-streaming-platform.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

On August 15, 2022, Nexstar confirmed to another report by ''WSJ'' in June that it would buy a 75% controlling interest in The CW; WBD and Paramount would each retain a 12.5% ownership interest in the network.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Flint |first=Joe |date=June 29, 2022 |title=Nexstar Nears Deal to Acquire Majority Control of CW Network |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/nexstar-nears-deal-to-acquire-majority-control-of-cw-network-11656537393 |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=WSJ |language=en-US |archive-date=June 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629235344/https://www.wsj.com/articles/nexstar-nears-deal-to-acquire-majority-control-of-cw-network-11656537393 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Neuman |first=Jennifer |date=2022-08-15 |title=Nexstar Media Group to Acquire The CW Network |url=https://www.nexstar.tv/nexstar-media-group-to-acquire-the-cw-network/ |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=Nexstar Media Group, Inc. |language=en-US |archive-date=August 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815110032/https://www.nexstar.tv/nexstar-media-group-to-acquire-the-cw-network/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Nexstar stated that Mark Pedowitz would remain chairman and CEO of the network. WBD and Paramount would still produce content for The CW as the network's main content suppliers, but Nexstar stated that the arrangement would be for the [[2022–23 United States network television schedule|2022–23 broadcast season]], and it was given "the option to extend the partnership."<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Hayes |first=Dade |date=2022-08-15 |title=The CW Will Be A Profitable Network By 2025, With Broader And Cheaper Programming, New Owners At Nexstar Signal |url=https://deadline.com/2022/08/the-cw-will-become-profitable-network-2025-broader-cheaper-programming-nexstar-1235092173/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815144120/https://deadline.com/2022/08/the-cw-will-become-profitable-network-2025-broader-cheaper-programming-nexstar-1235092173/ |archive-date=August 15, 2022 |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref> As the transaction did not need any regulatory approval (unlike the [[Big Three (American television)|"Big Four" networks]], The CW does not own any of its stations), Nexstar immediately took over the network's operations.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Mark |date=2022-08-15 |title=Nexstar Management Of CW Is Immediate |url=https://tvnewscheck.com/business/article/nexstar-management-of-cw-is-immediate/ |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=TV News Check |language=en |archive-date=August 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815170609/https://tvnewscheck.com/business/article/nexstar-management-of-cw-is-immediate/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In September 2022, WBD became the subject of a proposed class-action lawsuit by one of its shareholders, alleging that WarnerMedia was overinvesting in streaming content "without sufficient concern for return on investments", and had overstated the number of HBO Max subscribers by at least 10 million by counting inactivated subscriptions bundled with AT&T services—thus misleading investors in violation of the [[Securities Act]]. It also alleged that Discovery executives failed to warn investors that WarnerMedia's [[Prospectus (finance)|prospectus]] contained misleading statements.<ref>{{Cite web|date=September 28, 2022|title=Warner Bros. Discovery faces suit alleging inflated HBO Max numbers|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2022-09-28/warner-bros-discovery-shareholder-lawsuit-hbo-subscribers|access-date=2022-09-29|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|archive-date=September 29, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929155042/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2022-09-28/warner-bros-discovery-shareholder-lawsuit-hbo-subscribers|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=September 27, 2022|title=Warner Bros. Discovery Inflated HBO Max Subscribers, Lawsuit Claims|url=https://www.thewrap.com/warner-bros-discovery-hbo-max-subscribers-class-action-lawsuit/|access-date=2022-09-29|website=[[TheWrap]]|language=en-US|archive-date=September 29, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929155044/https://www.thewrap.com/warner-bros-discovery-hbo-max-subscribers-class-action-lawsuit/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On September 28 during a company town hall, Zaslav addressed speculation that WBD was pursuing a possible sale as early as 2024, stating that they were "absolutely not for sale", and "have everything we need to be successful."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Masters|first=Kim|date=September 16, 2022|title=Warner Bros. Discovery Has Bigger Problems Than Its DC Search|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/warner-bros-discovery-has-bigger-problems-than-its-dc-search-1235221804/|access-date=2022-09-29|website=The Hollywood Reporter|language=en-US|archive-date=September 29, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929155047/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/warner-bros-discovery-has-bigger-problems-than-its-dc-search-1235221804/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Weprin|first=Alex|date=September 28, 2022|title=David Zaslav Says Warner Bros. Discovery Is "Not For Sale" In Town Hall With Staff|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/warner-bros-discovery-not-for-sale-david-zaslav-1235229267/|access-date=2022-09-29|website=The Hollywood Reporter|language=en-US|archive-date=September 29, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929155044/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/warner-bros-discovery-not-for-sale-david-zaslav-1235229267/|url-status=live}}</ref> On October 11, Warner Bros. Television Group laid off 82 employees and eliminated 43 vacant positions as part of a restructuring that primarily impacts their unscripted and animation units. The restructuring saw the consolidation of Warner Horizon and [[Telepictures]]' creative operations, and the consolidation of [[Cartoon Network Studios]]' and [[Warner Bros. Animation]]'s development and production teams (with the two studios remaining separate [[Imprint (trade name)|labels]] with their own distinct output).<ref>{{Cite web|last=Schneider|first=Michael|date=October 12, 2022|title=Warner Bros. TV Group Lays Off 82 Staffers, Consolidates Some Unscripted and Animation Departments in Belt-Tightening Restructure|url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/warner-bros-tv-group-layoffs-82-staffers-channing-dungey-1235400286/|access-date=2022-10-12|website=Variety|language=en-US|archive-date=October 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012193353/https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/warner-bros-tv-group-layoffs-82-staffers-channing-dungey-1235400286/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On October 3, 2022, Nexstar closed its deal to acquire a controlling interest in The CW. Mark Pedowitz resigned from his position as the network's chairman and CEO, with Dennis Miller stepping in as the president of The CW.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Steinberg |first=Brian |date=2022-10-03 |title=Mark Pedowitz Will Leave CW Amid Nexstar Acquisition |url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/mark-pedowitz-cw-departure-nexstar-1235390915/ |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=Variety |language=en-US |archive-date=October 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003120421/https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/mark-pedowitz-cw-departure-nexstar-1235390915/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In October 2022, it was announced that filmmaker [[James Gunn]] and producer [[Peter Safran]] would serve as the co-CEO and co-chairmen of DC Films which rebranded as DC Studios moving forward. The duo has signed a four-year deal that will oversee the production of films, television, and animation under the DC label. The pair will report directly to Zaslav, while also working alongside but independently with other members of the studio. Gunn will oversee creative development on DC projects, while Safran will oversee the business aspect.<ref name="DCStudios_THR">{{Cite web|last1=Couch|first1=Aaron|last2=Kit|first2=Borys|date=October 25, 2022|title=DC Shocker: James Gunn, Peter Safran to Lead Film, TV and Animation Division (Exclusive)|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/dc-movies-james-gunn-peter-safran-to-lead-film-tv-division-1235248438/|access-date=2022-10-25|website=The Hollywood Reporter|language=en-US|archive-date=October 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221025235450/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/dc-movies-james-gunn-peter-safran-to-lead-film-tv-division-1235248438/|url-status=live}}</ref> During an earnings report in November 2022, it was announced that the launch of WBD's streaming service had been moved up to spring 2023.<ref>{{Cite web|last=White|first=Peter|date=November 3, 2022|title=HBO Max & Discovery+ Combo Service Launch Date Moved Up|url=https://deadline.com/2022/11/hbo-max-discovery-service-launch-date-1235162949/|access-date=2022-11-03|website=Deadline|language=en-US|archive-date=November 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221103222348/https://deadline.com/2022/11/hbo-max-discovery-service-launch-date-1235162949/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Max (streaming service)|Max]] was unveiled April 12, 2023.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Quinald |first1=Daniel |date=February 27, 2023 |title=How the HBO Max-Discovery+ Combo Could Challenge Netflix and Hulu |url=https://www.thewrap.com/hbo-max-discovery-plus-catalog-demographics/ |access-date=1 March 2023 |website=The Wrap |archive-date=March 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230301221133/https://www.thewrap.com/hbo-max-discovery-plus-catalog-demographics/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In December 2022, CNN announced cutbacks and a reorganization to prioritize its "core" operations, resulting in sister channel [[HLN (TV network)|HLN]] being brought under the auspices of [[Investigation Discovery]] and abandoning its remaining original live news programming.<ref>{{cite web|last=Steinberg|first=Brian|date=December 7, 2022|title=Big Cable Networks Like HLN Are Failing, and Media Companies Can't Stop Their Decline|url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/hln-big-cable-networks-fail-warner-robin-meade-1235452819/|access-date=December 7, 2022|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|archive-date=December 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207181520/https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/hln-big-cable-networks-fail-warner-robin-meade-1235452819/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="thr-hln-cuts">{{cite web|last=Weprin|first=Alex|date=December 1, 2022|title=CNN Chief Outlines Cuts: HLN Slashed, International Reorganized, "Core" News Product In Focus|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/cnn-chief-outlines-cuts-hln-slashed-international-reorganized-core-news-product-in-focus-1235273293/|access-date=December 2, 2022|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|archive-date=December 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201215819/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/cnn-chief-outlines-cuts-hln-slashed-international-reorganized-core-news-product-in-focus-1235273293/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Turnover, cutbacks and restructuring operations (2023–present) ===
In January 2023, WBD announced licensing agreements with the [[free ad-supported streaming television]] (FAST) services [[The Roku Channel]] and [[Fox Corporation]]'s [[Tubi]], featuring library content from Discovery, TLC, HGTV, Food Network, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Television, and HBO (including some of the series that were pulled from HBO Max earlier).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/roku-tubi-warner-bros-discovery-free-fast-channels-westworld-1235507747|title=Roku and Tubi to Launch Warner Bros. Discovery Free, Ad-Supported Channels, Featuring HBO's 'Westworld' and More|magazine=Variety|date=January 31, 2023|accessdate=February 23, 2023|archive-date=February 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223213814/https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/roku-tubi-warner-bros-discovery-free-fast-channels-westworld-1235507747/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/warner-bros-discovery-licenses-movies-tv-shows-roku-tubi-2023-01-31/|title=Exclusive: Warner Bros Discovery licenses movies and TV shows to Roku, Tubi|work=Reuters|date=January 31, 2023|accessdate=February 23, 2023|archive-date=February 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230222130643/https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/warner-bros-discovery-licenses-movies-tv-shows-roku-tubi-2023-01-31/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On February 8, 2023, ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' reported that WBD had amended its plans to merge Discovery+ with HBO Max, with HBO Max's successor slated to include "most" Discovery content, and Discovery+ remaining operational to retain its subscriber base, and provide an alternative option for customers not interested in the higher-priced unified service.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Toonkel |first1=Jessica |last2=Flint |first2=Joe |title=Warner Bros. Discovery to Keep Discovery+, in Strategy Shift |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/warner-bros-discovery-to-keep-discovery-in-strategy-shift-11675859633 |access-date=2023-02-08 |newspaper=Wall Street Journal |date=February 8, 2023 |language=en-US |archive-date=February 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208123759/https://www.wsj.com/articles/warner-bros-discovery-to-keep-discovery-in-strategy-shift-11675859633 |url-status=live }}</ref> On February 24, WBD CEO David Zaslav confirmed the change of plans during an earnings call, saying that Discovery+ has "profitable subscribers that are very happy with the product offering".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hayes |first=Dade |date=2023-02-23 |title=Discovery+ Economics Justify Continuing It As A Stand-Alone Streamer After Launch Of Merged HBO Max Offering, WBD CEO David Zaslav Says: "Why Would We Shut That Off?" |url=https://deadline.com/2023/02/discovery-economics-justify-continuing-it-as-stand-alone-streamer-after-launch-of-merged-hbo-max-offering-wbd-ceo-david-zaslav-says-why-would-we-shut-that-off-1235269383/ |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=Deadline |language=en-US |archive-date=February 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223235438/https://deadline.com/2023/02/discovery-economics-justify-continuing-it-as-stand-alone-streamer-after-launch-of-merged-hbo-max-offering-wbd-ceo-david-zaslav-says-why-would-we-shut-that-off-1235269383/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In early-June 2023, Chris Licht was fired from CNN.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-07 |title=Licht's Out |url=https://puck.news/lichts-out/ |access-date=2023-06-07 |website=Puck |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Alberta |first=Tim |date=June 2, 2023 |title=Inside the Meltdown at CNN |work=The Atlantic |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2023/06/cnn-ratings-chris-licht-trump/674255/ |access-date=June 7, 2023}}</ref> On June 20, 2023, WBD underwent a round of layoffs affecting around 100 employees in the U.S. Networks division, most notably including multiple [[Turner Classic Movies]] (TCM) executives such as Pola Changnon (who had been with Turner for over 25 years). WBD announced plans to place the channel under Cartoon Network head [[Michael Ouweleen]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Littleton |first=Cynthia |date=2023-06-20 |title=Warner Bros. Discovery Layoffs Hit Domestic Cable Group; TCM Sees Leadership Shuffle |url=https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/warner-bros-discovery-layoffs-cable-tcm-1235649925/ |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> It was also reported that WBD was preparing a deal to sell half of the [[Music publisher|published music]] catalog of Warner Bros. Entertainment (which consists primarily of music composed for its films and TV series, and is currently being administered by [[Universal Music Publishing Group]]) for around $500 million.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Aswad |first=Jem |date=2023-06-22 |title=Warner Bros. Discovery Negotiating $500 Million Deal to Sell Film and TV Music Publishing Assets |url=https://variety.com/2023/music/news/warner-bros-discovery-500-million-deal-sell-film-tv-music-publishing-assets-1235652398/ |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> Amid concerns over the future of TCM, [[Martin Scorsese]], [[Steven Spielberg]], and [[Paul Thomas Anderson]] met with Zaslav, and on June 23 it was announced that the channel would be placed under Warner Bros. Pictures Group heads [[Michael De Luca]] and Pamela Abdy—who both affirmed the cultural significance of TCM and pledged to keep its programming "untouched and protected".<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Grobar |first=Matt |date=2023-06-23 |title=Turner Classic Movies Now To Be Overseen By Warner Bros' Michael De Luca & Pamela Abdy |url=https://deadline.com/2023/06/turner-classic-movies-michael-de-luca-pamela-abdy-now-to-oversee-channel-1235423615/ |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Jackson |first=Angelique |date=2023-06-21 |title=Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Paul Thomas Anderson Meet With WBD Chief David Zaslav Following TCM Layoffs |url=https://variety.com/2023/film/news/tcm-layoffs-steven-spielberg-martin-scorsese-david-zaslav-1235651446/ |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Weprin |first=Alex |date=2023-06-20 |title=TCM Chief Pola Changnon to Exit Warner Bros. Discovery Amid Further Cuts in TV Division |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/warner-bros-discovery-layoffs-new-round-2023-1235519711/ |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref>

In December 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery announced the purchase of Turkish streaming platform [[BluTV]], with operations in the [[MENA]] region.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2023/streaming/global/warner-bros-discovery-acquires-blutv-turkey-1235857579/|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=29 December 2023|first=Elise|last=Shafer|title=Warner Bros. Discovery Acquires Turkish Streaming Service BluTV}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/warner-bros-discovery-blutv-turkish-streamer-deal-1235776485/|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|first=Georg|last=Szalai|date=29 December 2023|title=Warner Bros. Discovery Acquires Turkish Streamer BluTV}}</ref> On February 16, 2024, [[RedBird Capital Partners]] (via its [[United Arab Emirates]]-backed partnership RedBird IMI) announced its intent to acquire [[All3Media]]—a WBD joint venture with [[Liberty Global]]—for £1.15 billion.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goldbart |first=Max |date=2024-02-16 |title=All3Media Sale Saga Ends With RedBird IMI Confirming Acquisition Of 'The Traitors' Maker For $1.45B |url=https://deadline.com/2024/02/redbird-imi-sale-all3media-1235826525/ |access-date=2024-06-25 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref> The acquisition was completed on May 16, 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Whittock |first=Jesse |date=2024-05-16 |title=RedBird IMI Completes $1.45B Takeover Of 'The Traitors' Maker All3Media; Jeff Zucker Becomes Super-Indie's Chairman |url=https://deadline.com/2024/05/redbird-imi-completes-all3media-acquisition-1235918873/ |access-date=2024-06-25 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref> WBD had previously announced an intent to sell its stake in the company to British broadcaster [[ITV plc]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Crowley |first=Amy-Jo |date=31 May 2023 |title=Liberty Global and Warner Bros Discovery owners weigh deal for All3Media |url=https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/liberty-global-warner-bros-discovery-owners-weigh-deal-all3media-sources-2023-05-31/ |access-date=4 August 2023 |work=Reuters |language=en}}</ref> but the company declined.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Szalai |first=Georg |date=14 July 2023 |title=ITV "No Longer Actively Exploring" All3Media Acquisition From Warner Bros. Discovery, Liberty Global |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/itv-all3media-deal-no-longer-active-1235536249/ |access-date=4 August 2023 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="variety.com">{{Cite web |last1=Ravindran |first1=Manori |last2=Keslassy |first2=Elsa |date=31 July 2023 |title=All3Media Being Eyed by Mediawan, Banijay, Sony After ITV Pulled Out of Acquisition (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2023/tv/global/all3media-sale-itv-mediawan-banijay-sony-1235682357/ |access-date=4 August 2023 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>

In April 2024, [[Warner Bros. Discovery New Zealand]] announced that it would shut down its news department [[Newshub]] (which produced bulletins for its free-to-air channel [[Three (TV channel)|Three]]) in July 2024, citing declining local advertising revenue.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Currie |first1=Shayne |last2=Harris |first2=Katie |date=10 April 2024 |title=Newshub closure live updates: Staff emotional after meeting - TVNZ's Sunday team |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/newshub-closure-tvnz-sunday-job-cuts-staff-prepare-for-meetings-to-hear-fate-of-news-brands-shows/5RELN4BXSNBWPMH5ZZ7MVQU5CE/ |access-date=10 April 2024 |newspaper=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |department=Media Insider |publisher=[[NZME]] |location=Auckland |language=en-NZ}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Harris |first1=Katie |date=9 April 2024 |title=Why is Newshub closing? What we know about the decision to axe the broadcaster |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/why-is-newshub-closing-what-we-know-about-warner-brothers-discoverys-decision-to-axe-the-broadcaster/5CD6TP2R5RBDXFOTFNOTLJVFLM/ |access-date=8 July 2024 |work=NZ Herald |language=en-NZ}}</ref> Newshub would be supplanted by a partnership with local media company [[Stuff (company)|Stuff]], which launched an evening newscast under the ''[[ThreeNews]]'' banner using its resources and former Newshub staff.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Peacock |first1=Colin |date=16 April 2024 |title=Stuff to provide news bulletins to replace Newshub |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018934438/stuff-to-provide-news-bulletins-to-replace-newshub |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416032145/https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018934438/stuff-to-provide-news-bulletins-to-replace-newshub |archive-date=16 April 2024 |access-date=16 April 2024 |work=[[Radio New Zealand]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=27 May 2024 |title=The name for Stuff's new TV bulletin replacing Newshub |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/517942/the-name-for-stuff-s-new-tv-bulletin-replacing-newshub |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240527040133/https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/517942/the-name-for-stuff-s-new-tv-bulletin-replacing-newshub |archive-date=27 May 2024 |access-date=28 May 2024 |work=[[RNZ]] |language=en-nz}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=7 May 2024 |title=Samantha Hayes to front Stuff's new 6pm TV bulletin alongside other key talent |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350269580/samantha-hayes-front-stuffs-new-6pm-tv-bulletin-alongside-other-key-talent |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240511030940/https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350269580/samantha-hayes-front-stuffs-new-6pm-tv-bulletin-alongside-other-key-talent |archive-date=11 May 2024 |access-date=11 May 2024 |work=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]]}}</ref> In July 2024, CNN CEO Mark Thompson announced 100 employees would be laid off as part of a larger strategy to consolidate and integrate its television and digital operations.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Ted |date=2024-07-11 |title=CNN To Reduce Staff By About 100 As CEO Unveils New Details Of "One Newsroom" Strategy; Layoffs Include Media Critic Brian Lowry — Update |url=https://deadline.com/2024/07/cnn-layoffs-mark-thompson-strategy-1236005758/ |access-date=2024-07-17 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref> A week later, a smaller number of WBD employees at Max and in production, business affairs, and finance were also let go.<ref>{{Cite web |last=White |first=Peter |date=2024-07-16 |title=Warner Bros. Discovery Starts New Round Of Layoffs |url=https://deadline.com/2024/07/warner-bros-discovery-layoffs-1236011779/ |access-date=2024-07-17 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref>

On July 18, 2024, it was reported by the ''[[Financial Times]]'' that Zaslav and WBD executives had been discussing the possibility of breaking up the company, so that WBD's unprofitable linear television networks could be separated from the more profitable Warner Bros. studio business and Max.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Warner Bros Discovery drafts break-up plan |url=https://www.ft.com/content/be716ec2-1c02-467c-94af-7c8ef9ae1963 |access-date=2024-07-30 |website=Financial Times|date=July 18, 2024 |last1=Grimes |first1=Christopher |last2=Heeter |first2=Maria |last3=Gara |first3=Antoine |last4=Indap |first4=Sujeet |last5=Fontanella-Khan |first5=James }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=D'Alessandro |first=Anthony |date=2024-07-18 |title=Warner Bros Discovery Mulling Split To Boost Stock Price |url=https://deadline.com/2024/07/warner-bros-discovery-break-up-1236014013/ |access-date=2024-07-30 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref> On July 24, 2024, the [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] officially announced new media rights agreements with [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] ([[ESPN]] and [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]), [[NBCUniversal]] ([[NBC]] and [[Peacock (streaming service)|Peacock]]), and [[Amazon Prime Video]] beginning in the 2025–26 season, ending a nearly 36-year association between the NBA and TNT. WBD had attempted to invoke a condition in its contract allowing it to match offers made by competitors (with the company, in particular, targeting the package sold to Amazon), but the league argued that it did not sufficiently match Amazon's offer. WBD threatened legal action, claiming that the NBA had "grossly misinterpreted our contractual rights".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pickman |first1=Ben |last2=Marchand |first2=Andrew |date=July 24, 2024 |title=NBA announces $77 billion deals with ESPN, NBC and Amazon; TNT Sports threatens to sue, per sources |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5655843/2024/07/24/nba-tnt-sports-tv-deal-match-rejected/ |website=The Athletic}}</ref>

In August 2024, WBD reported that it had lost $10 billion in the second quarter of 2024, relating to continued losses from its direct-to-consumer segment and the devaluation of its linear TV assets.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Maas |first=Jennifer |date=2024-08-07 |title=Warner Bros. Discovery Takes $9.1 Billion Balance-Sheet Hit for Massive Drop in TV Network Values |url=https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/warner-bros-discovery-9-billion-charge-tv-network-value-max-subscribers-q2-earnings-1236097338/ |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=Variety}}</ref>

In November 2024, WBD agreed to a legal settlement with the NBA. The settlement included access to NBA highlights at no additional cost for [[Bleacher Report]] and [[House of Highlights]] and allowed for WBD, under its [[TNT Sports (United States)|TNT Sports]] division, to continue operating [[NBA TV]] and NBA.com for the NBA. The agreement also included live game rights for select international territories in Nordic Europe and South America. In a separate agreement with [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]], WBD agreed to sublicense its NBA studio show ''[[Inside the NBA]]'' to [[ESPN]] and [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] in exchange for ESPN sublicensing [[Big 12 Conference|Big 12]] college football and basketball games to TNT Sports.<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://press.wbd.com/us/media-release/warner-bros-discovery-and-national-basketball-association-reach-agreement-expand-long|title=Warner Bros. Discovery and the National Basketball Association Reach Agreement to Expand Long-Standing Partnership|website=Warner Bros. Discovery|date=November 18, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|url=https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2024/11/espn-and-tnt-sports-reach-agreement-for-iconic-inside-the-nba-to-be-exclusively-distributed-on-espn-and-abc-platforms-beginning-with-2025-26-nba-regular-season/|title=
ESPN and TNT Sports Reach Agreement for Iconic Inside the NBA to be Exclusively Distributed on ESPN and ABC Platforms Beginning with 2025-26 NBA Regular Season|website=ESPN Press Room|date=November 18, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Flint |first1=Joe |title=Warner Bros. Discovery, NBA Settle Legal Battle Over TV Rights |url=https://www.wsj.com/business/media/nba-warner-bros-discovery-lawsuit-settlement-7710547b |website=wsj.com |publisher=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=17 November 2024 |date=17 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Marchand, Andrew |author2=West, Jenna |title='Inside the NBA' to continue on ABC and ESPN as part of TNT-NBA settlement: Sources |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5926632/2024/11/16/inside-the-nba-abc-espn-tnt-lawsuit/ |website=nytimes.com/athletic |publisher=The Athletic |date=17 November 2024}}</ref>

On December 12, 2024, WBD announced plans to reorganize its studios, networks and direct-to-consumer/streaming divisions in mid-2025. These businesses will be reorganized into two units: "Streaming & Studios"—which will include Warner Bros., HBO, and Max, and "Global Linear Networks". Zaslav stated that the new structure would enable greater flexibility and "potential future strategic opportunities". It will also insulate WBD's declining cable networks from its more profitable studio and direct-to-consumer businesses.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hayes |first=Dade |date=2024-12-12 |title=Warner Bros. Discovery Creates New Corporate Structure, Separating Linear Networks From Streaming & Studios; Stock Soars – Update |url=https://deadline.com/2024/12/warner-bros-discovery-new-corporate-structure-linear-networks-streaming-studios-1236201610/ |access-date=2024-12-13 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Assets==
{{Main list|list of assets owned by Warner Bros. Discovery|list of libraries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery}}
Warner Bros. Discovery consists of eight primary business divisions:<ref name=":1" />
* '''[[Warner Bros.|Warner Bros. Entertainment]]''' consists of assets including [[DC Studios]], [[Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures]], [[Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment]], [[Turner Entertainment]], [[David L. Wolper|The Wolper Organization]], [[WaterTower Music]] and Warner Bros. Studio Operations.
** '''Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group''' consists of the company's filmed entertainment and theatrical entertainment businesses, including [[Warner Bros. Pictures]], [[New Line Cinema]], [[Warner Bros. Pictures Animation]] and [[Castle Rock Entertainment]]. The division is led by former [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]] executives [[Michael De Luca]] and Pamela Abdy.
** '''Warner Bros. Television Group''' consists of domestic and international network of television production companies, including the flagship [[Warner Bros. Television]] label, alongside [[Telepictures]], [[Alloy Entertainment]], [[Warner Bros. Animation]], [[Cartoon Network Studios]], [[Williams Street]], and Warner Horizon Unscripted Television. The division is also responsible for 12.5% of [[The CW]]. The division is led by [[Channing Dungey]].
* '''[[Warner Bros. Discovery Networks]]''' owns and/or operates most of the company's linear cable networks in the United States, including [[Discovery Channel]], [[TLC (TV network)|TLC]], [[Animal Planet]], [[Oprah Winfrey Network|OWN]], [[Investigation Discovery]], [[Food Network]] and [[Cooking Channel]] (both with [[Nexstar Media Group]]), [[HGTV]], [[TBS (American TV channel)|TBS]], [[TNT (American TV network)|TNT]], [[TruTV]], [[Turner Classic Movies]], [[HLN (TV network)|HLN]], [[Cartoon Network]]/[[Adult Swim]], and [[Boomerang (TV network)|Boomerang]] among others. The division is led by [[Channing Dungey]].
* '''[[Warner Bros. Discovery International]]''' focuses on local and regional variations that pipelined with global market through operations for its domestic television channels, including region-specific operations such as [[TVN Group]] in Poland and [[Three (TV channel)|Three]] in New Zealand, as well as responsible for the distribution of linear networks from CNN Worldwide and Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, including [[Eurosport]]. The division is led by [[Gerhard Zeiler]]. It is split into four regional hubs: [[Warner Bros. Discovery Asia-Pacific]], [[Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA]], [[TVN Warner Bros. Discovery]] (Poland),<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rp.pl/media/art36122951-warnerbros-discovery-w-polsce-samodzielnym-bytem-sa-zmiany-w-kierownictwie-tvn|title=WarnerBros. Discovery w Polsce samodzielnym bytem. Są zmiany w kierownictwie TVN|access-date=May 25, 2022|first=Urszula|last=Zielińska|publisher=[[Rzeczpospolita (newspaper)|Rzeczpospolita]]|date=April 21, 2022|language=Polish|archive-date=May 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519173825/https://www.rp.pl/media/art36122951-warnerbros-discovery-w-polsce-samodzielnym-bytem-sa-zmiany-w-kierownictwie-tvn|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Warner Bros. Discovery Americas]].
* '''CNN Worldwide''' operates the [[CNN]] news channel and other global broadcast news assets owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, including [[CNN International|various international CNN branches]]. The division is led by [[Mark Thompson (media executive)|Mark Thompson]].
* '''[[Home Box Office, Inc.]]''' is the parent company of the [[HBO]] and [[Cinemax]] [[premium television]] services. The division, which also oversees the production of Warner Bros. Discovery's streaming service [[Max (streaming service)|Max]] Originals as well as the former Discovery joint venture [[Magnolia Network]], is led by chairman and chief executive officer Casey Bloys
* '''[[TNT Sports]]''' is the brand name used for sports-related divisions of the company. The American division manages the company's domestic broadcast sports businesses, including [[MLB Network]], [[NBA TV]], and [[MotorTrend]] the sports media website [[Bleacher Report]] and previously [[AT&T SportsNet]] until it shut down in 2023, while the European division handles Warner Bros. Discovery's international sports operations, including [[Eurosport]] and [[TNT Sports (United Kingdom)|TNT Sports UK]], and the sports division of Warner Bros. Discovery in Latin America, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Latin America which owns the sports channel TNT Sports LATAM which replaces [[TNT Sports (Brazil)|Esporte Interativo]]. Both divisions are led by [[Luis Silberwasser]].
* '''Warner Bros. Discovery Global Streaming & Interactive Entertainment''' manages the operations of the company's direct-to-consumer platforms, online brands and gaming businesses, including the streaming services [[Max (streaming service)|Max]] and [[Discovery+]], video game publisher [[Warner Bros. Games]], and the now-defunct digital media company [[Rooster Teeth]]. The division is led by JB Perrette.
* '''[[Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences]]''' manages Warner Bros. theme parks and studio tours. Additional business segments include divisions responsible for Global Content Distribution (Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution), [[DC Comics]], and Advertising Sales.
** '''[[DC Entertainment]]''' consists of the comic book publisher [[DC Comics]] and its associated intellectual properties. The unit works with other divisions of Warner Bros. Discovery on content adapted from its properties, such as films, television series and video games.<ref>{{Cite web |last=D'Alessandro |first=Anthony |date=May 3, 2023 |title=Jim Lee Promoted To President Of DC Comics |url=https://deadline.com/2023/05/dc-comics-jim-lee-president-1235355316/ |access-date=August 4, 2023 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Leadership ==
{{Col-begin}}

{{Col-2}}

; Board of Directors<ref name=WBDLeadership>{{Cite web|title= Leadership|url=https://wbd.com/leadership/|website=Warner Bros. Discovery|access-date=August 5, 2022|archive-date=August 11, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811015153/https://wbd.com/leadership/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Samuel DiPiazza|Samuel A. DiPiazza Jr.]] (Chair)
* Li Haslett Chen
* Li Haslett Chen
* [[Richard W. Fisher|Richard Fisher]]
* [[Richard W. Fisher]]
* Paul Gould
* Paul A. Gould
* [[Debra L. Lee]]
* [[Debra L. Lee]]
* Kenneth W. Lowe
* [[John C. Malone|John Malone]]
* [[John C. Malone|Dr. John C. Malone]]
* Fazal Merchant
* Fazal Merchant
* Paula A. Price
* Steven Miron
* Daniel E. Sanchez
* Steven Newhouse
* Geoffrey Y. Yang
* Paula Price
* Geoffrey Yang
* [[David Zaslav]]
* [[David Zaslav]]
{{col-2}}
{{col-2}}
; Executives<ref name=WBDLeadership/>
;Executives<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2022-04-07 |title=Discovery, Inc. Announces Future Leadership Team for Warner Bros. Discovery |url=https://corporate.discovery.com/discovery-newsroom/discovery-inc-announces-future-leadership-team-for-warner-bros-discovery/ |access-date=2022-04-07 |website=Discovery |language=en-US}}</ref>
* [[David Zaslav]], Chief Executive Officer
* '''[[David Zaslav]], President and CEO'''
** [[Pamela Abdy]] and [[Michael De Luca]], Co-Chair and CEO, [[Warner Bros.|Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group]]
* Gunnar Wiedenfels, Chief Financial Officer
** Savalle Sims, Chief Legal Officer
* [[Toby Emmerich]], Chairman, [[Warner Bros. Pictures|Warner Bros. Pictures Group]]
** Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO, [[Home Box Office, Inc.|HBO]] and [[Max (streaming service)|Max]] Content
* [[Channing Dungey]], Chairwoman, [[Warner Bros. Television Studios|Warner Bros. Television Group]]
* [[Kathleen Finch]], Chairwoman and Chief Content Officer, US Networks Group
** Bruce Campbell, Chief Revenue and Strategy Officer
*** Jon Steinlauf, Chief U.S. Advertising Sales Officer
** [[Tom Ascheim]], President, [[Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics]]
* JB Perrette, Chief Executive Officer and President, Warner Bros. Discovery Global Streaming and Interactive Entertainment
** [[Channing Dungey]], Chairman and CEO, [[Warner Bros.|Warner Bros. Television Group]] and US Networks
** [[James Gunn]] and [[Peter Safran]], Co-Chairman and CEO of [[DC Studios]]
* [[Gerhard Zeiler]], President, Warner Bros. Discovery International
** JB Perrette, CEO and President, Global Streaming and [[Warner Bros. Games|Games]]
* Casey Bloys, Chief Content Officer of [[Home Box Office, Inc.|HBO]] and [[HBO Max]]
* [[Chris Licht]], Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, [[CNN|CNN Global]]
*** Avi Saxena, Chief Technology Officer
*** Tyler Whitworth, Chief Product Officer
{{col-end}}
*** Patrizio Spagnoletto, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Direct-to-Consumer
** Jennifer Remling, Chief People and Culture Officer
** Asif Sadiq, Chief Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer
** [[Luis Silberwasser]], Chairman and CEO of [[TNT Sports]]
** [[Mark Thompson (media executive)|Mark Thompson]], Chairman and CEO, [[CNN|CNN Worldwide]]
** Gunnar Wiedenfels, Chief Financial Officer
*** Dave Duvall, Chief Information Officer
*** Lori Locke, Chief Accounting Officer
** [[Gerhard Zeiler]], President, [[Warner Bros. Discovery International|International]]
{{Col-end}}


== References ==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Official website}}
{{Finance links
| name = Warner Bros. Discovery
| google = WBD
| yahoo = WBD
| bloomberg = WBD:US
| reuters = WBD.O
| sec_cik = 1437107
}}


{{Warner Bros. Discovery}}
{{Warner Bros. Discovery}}
{{Film Studio}}


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[[Category:Warner Bros. Discovery| ]]

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[[Category:Discovery, Inc.| ]]

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[[Category:Warner Bros. Discovery| ]]

Latest revision as of 23:15, 5 January 2025

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.
Company typePublic
ISINUS9344231041
Industry
Predecessors
FoundedApril 8, 2022; 2 years ago (2022-04-08)
Headquarters230 Park Avenue South,
New York City, New York
,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
RevenueIncrease US$41.32 billion (2023)
Negative increase US$−1.55 billion (2023)
Negative increase US$−3.13 billion (2023)
Total assets Decrease US$122.8 billion (2023)
Total equityDecrease US$45.23 billion (2023)
OwnerAdvance Publications (8%)[2]
Number of employees
34,300 (2024)[3]
Divisions
Subsidiaries
Websitewbd.com
Footnotes / references
[3]

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It was formed from WarnerMedia's spin-off by AT&T and merger with Discovery, Inc. on April 8, 2022.

The company's properties are divided into nine business units, consisting of the flagship Warner Bros. film and television studios, comic book publisher DC Comics, Home Box Office, Inc. (including HBO, Cinemax and Magnolia Network), U.S. Networks Group (including the majority of the advertisement-supported cable channels of its predecessors, namely Discovery, Scripps Networks, Turner Broadcasting, and Warner), CNN Worldwide (which includes CNN and CNN International), TNT Sports (including Motor Trend Group, TNT Sports UK, and Eurosport), Global Streaming & Interactive Entertainment (which includes the Discovery+ and Max streaming services, as well as the video game publisher Warner Bros. Games), and International Networks. It also holds a one-eighth stake in The CW (with Paramount Global also owning a one-eighth stake), and a majority stake in Television Food Network, G.P. (comprising Food Network and Cooking Channel), which are co-owned by Nexstar Media Group.

Background

[edit]

1923–1979

[edit]
2019–2022 WarnerMedia logo

Warner Bros., Turner Broadcasting System, Scripps Networks Interactive and Discovery, Inc. have conjoined histories. Warner Bros. was founded on April 4, 1923, by four brothers, Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner. The company established itself as a leader in the American film industry[4] before diversifying into animation, television, and video games and is one of the "Big Five" American film studios, as well as a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA). In 1965, Turner Broadcasting System was founded by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia. A year later, Kinney National Company came into existence and its media division became Warner Communications before merging with Time Inc. in 1990 to become Time Warner. During its time as Warner Communications, the company made a number of further acquisitions.[5][6]

1979–1994

[edit]
2018–2022 Discovery, Inc. logo

In 1979, Warner Communications formed a joint venture with credit card company American Express called Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment. American Express acquired a 50% stake in Warner Communications' cable television holdings for $175 million.[7][8] This company owned such cable channels as MTV, Nickelodeon, The Movie Channel, and VH1 (which was launched in 1985 on the channel space left by Turner's Cable Music Channel). Warner Communications bought out American Express's half in 1984 and sold the venture a year later to the original iteration of Viacom, which renamed it MTV Networks (now known as Paramount Media Networks).[9] In 1982, Warner Communications purchased Popular Library from CBS Publications. Meanwhile in the same year, Cable Education Network was founded, launching The Discovery Channel three years later and was renamed to Discovery Communications in 1994. Scripps Networks Interactive was founded in 2008 spun off from E. W. Scripps Company's cable division.[10]

1996–2019

[edit]

In 1996, Time Warner Entertainment acquired the Turner Broadcasting System; but the company later merged with America Online (AOL) to form AOL Time Warner in 2001 and reverted to the Time Warner name in 2003.[11]

Time Warner spun off its cable division (later known as Spectrum owned by Charter Communications) and AOL (now owned by Yahoo! Inc.) in 2009 and Time Inc. was spun out in 2013, which was later acquired by Meredith Corporation and is now known as Dotdash Meredith.[12][13]

In 2018, Discovery Communications and AT&T acquired Scripps Networks Interactive and Time Warner, and were renamed to Discovery, Inc. and WarnerMedia respectively. In 2019, AT&T dissolved the Turner Broadcasting System as part of its reorganization of its media assets.[14]

History

[edit]

Formation and beginning of operations (2021–2022)

[edit]
The company's initial wordmark logo

On May 16, 2021, Bloomberg News reported that AT&T was considering an offer to divest equity interest in their media subsidiary WarnerMedia (the former Time Warner, which AT&T acquired in 2018 for just over $85 billion in an attempt to become a vertically integrated media conglomerate), and have it merge with Discovery, Inc. to form a new publicly traded company.[15][16] AT&T and Discovery officially confirmed the agreement the next day; the merger would be structured as a Reverse Morris Trust, with AT&T shareholders holding a 71% interest in the new company's stock and appointing seven board members, and Discovery shareholders holding a 29% interest and appointing six board members. AT&T would receive US$43 billion in cash and debt from the divestment. The merger was expected to be completed in mid-2022.[17][18][19]

The new company would be led by Discovery's current CEO, David Zaslav; WarnerMedia's CEO Jason Kilar's position in the new company was uncertain.[17] Zaslav stated that the two companies would spend a combined US$20 billion annually on content (outpacing even Netflix). The company will aim to expand their streaming services, which includes WarnerMedia's Max, to reach 400 million global subscribers.[18] It was stated that the company would aim to achieve $3 billion in cost savings via synergies within two years.[20]

On June 1, 2021, it was announced that the merged company would be known as Warner Bros. Discovery, and an interim wordmark was unveiled with the tagline "The stuff that dreams are made of"—a quote from the 1941 Warner Bros. film The Maltese Falcon, itself paraphrasing Shakespeare's The Tempest. Zaslav explained that the company aimed to be the "most innovative, exciting and fun place to tell stories in the world", and would combine Warner Bros.' "fabled hundred-year legacy of creative, authentic storytelling and taking bold risks to bring the most amazing stories to life" with Discovery's "integrity, innovation and inspiration."[21][22]

In an SEC Filing on November 18, 2021, Discovery revealed that talks with AT&T had fallen through, in April 2021, due to disagreements over the ownership of the new company between AT&T and Discovery shareholders, and the amount of debt transferred to Discovery when they merged with WarnerMedia, before talks resumed on May 17, 2021.[23]

In November 2021, during an earnings call, Discovery Streaming CEO JB Perrette discussed possible options for its Discovery+ streaming service post-merger, including bundling the service with HBO Max and eventually merging them under a single platform with a mixture of both companies' technologies. He also noted that WBD may prioritize launching Discovery+ and HBO Max as a unified platform in markets where Discovery+ has yet to launch, such as another parts of the Asia-Pacific.[24] On March 14, 2022, Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels—who would assume the same position post-merger—confirmed that such a transition was a long-term goal.[25]

On December 22, 2021, the transaction was approved by the European Commission.[26][27] On January 5, 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported that WarnerMedia and Paramount Global (at the time named ViacomCBS) were exploring a possible sale of either a majority stake or all of The CW, and that Nexstar Media Group was considered a leading bidder.[28] The reports also indicated that WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS could include a contractual commitment that would require any new owner to buy new programming from those companies, allowing them to reap some continual revenue through the network.[29] The CW's then-president-and-CEO Mark Pedowitz confirmed talks of a potential sale in a memo to CW staffers, but added that "It's too early to speculate what might happen."[30][31]

On January 26, 2022, AT&T CEO John Stankey stated that the merger was expected to close sometime during the second quarter of 2022.[32][33] On February 1, 2022, it was reported that AT&T had finalized the structure of the merger: WarnerMedia would be spun off pro rata to AT&T's shareholders, and then merge into Discovery Inc. to form the new company.[34][35] The transaction was approved by the Brazilian antitrust regulator Cade on February 7,[36] followed by the United States Department of Justice on February 9.[37] On March 11, 2022, the merger was approved by Discovery's shareholders. Due to the structure of the merger, it did not require separate approval from AT&T shareholders.[38][39]

Textless version of the Warner Bros. Discovery logo.[40] It is based on the 1999 variant of the 1998 Warner Bros. Pictures on-screen logo.

In an SEC filing on March 25, 2022, AT&T stated that two-way trading of WBD stock with that of AT&T would begin on April 4, 2022, and that a special dividend would be issued the next day to give AT&T shareholders a 0.24 share in WBD for each share of AT&T common stock they hold.[41][42] The merger was officially completed on April 8, 2022, with trading beginning on the Nasdaq on April 11.[43] At this time the company unveiled its final logo, designed by Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv, which features a rendition of Warner Bros.' long-time shield logo.[44]

The combined company retained several top executives from WarnerMedia, including film and television heads Toby Emmerich and Channing Dungey, and HBO and HBO Max chief content officer (CCO) Casey Bloys. Most of the company's top executive roles are filled by their Discovery counterparts, including Gunnar Wiedenfels as Warner Bros. Discovery's chief financial officer (CFO), JB Perrette as president and CEO of global streaming and interactive, and Discovery's chief lifestyle brands officer Kathleen Finch—whose role has been expanded to cover most of the combined company's U.S. linear networks, besides CNN (which was taken over by Chris Licht, replacing the outgoing Jeff Zucker), Magnolia Network (which reports to Bloys, after having previously reported directly to Zaslav under Discovery), and the Turner Sports unit (which would be overseen by the newly-formed Warner Bros. Discovery Sports division).[45][46][47]

In an introductory town hall featuring Oprah Winfrey as host, Zaslav stated that the combined company would need to have "one culture" that "starts with people feeling safe, people feeling valued for who they are", as opposed what he described as a culture of internal competition between WarnerMedia's businesses.[48] He also expected that "investment avoidance" via the consolidation of redundant business units (such as streaming) and staff would be one of the main ways that the company would achieve its promised $3 billion in cost savings.[49] On April 21, 2022, Licht and Perrette announced the shutdown of CNN's streaming service CNN+, which had only launched two weeks prior to the completion of the merger; the new leadership considered it to be incompatible with their goal of a unified streaming service for all WBD properties.[50][51][52]

In an investors' call on April 26 (concurrent with the first quarter earnings reports for Discovery Inc., its last prior to the merger), Zaslav contrasted the company's streaming businesses with those of Netflix (whose stock saw a decline after a quarterly loss in subscribers), describing Warner Bros. Discovery as being a "far more balanced and competitive company" that would "invest at scale smartly" and not "overspend" on growth and that its streaming businesses would complement its linear television. He stated that HBO Max had "meaningful subscriber churn", and that the planned merger of it with Discovery+ would help to reduce it by offering a broader array of content.[53] It was reported that the company had also suspended scripted development at TBS and TNT, to evaluate their strategies moving forward.[54] The following day, Zaslav purchased approximately $1 million worth of WBD stock.[55]

On May 11, 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery eliminated several executive positions carried over from WarnerMedia, including Kids, Young Adults and Classics head Tom Ascheim, and general manager of TBS, TNT, and TruTV head Brett Weitz. These networks would be overseen by Finch as head of U.S. Networks, while the studios under the Kids, Young Adults and Classics division (Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studios and Williams Street) was moved under Warner Bros. Television.[56][57][58] The same day, it announced an agreement with British telecom company BT Group for it to contribute its BT Sport channels into a 50/50 joint venture with its UK Eurosport channels, and eventually merge them.[59][60]

On June 1, 2022, Warner Bros. Pictures head Toby Emmerich announced that he would step down and establish a new studio, which will be funded by and have an exclusive, five-year distribution deal with Warner Bros. Pictures.[61] Warner Bros. Pictures was then divided into three business units with their own leadership: former MGM executives Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy became the co-chairs of Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema, and temporarily oversaw the DC Films and Warner Animation Group units.[62][63] Eight days later, WBD named former Discovery and Univision executive Luis Silberwasser as chairman of Sports.[64][65] In July 2022, Alan Horn rejoined Warner Bros. as a consultant.[66]

WBD delivered its second-quarter earnings report on August 4, 2022. Ahead of the report, the company performed multiple cuts to HBO Max throughout July and early-August, including cutting new programming development in much of Europe,[67] live-action children's programming development,[68] and direct-to-streaming films—leading to the notable August 3 cancellations of the nearly-completed films Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt as tax write-offs, and the quiet removals of multiple HBO Max original films from the platform and its upcoming releases.[69]

In the second quarter of 2022, WBD took $9.8 billion in revenue and a net loss of $2.2 billion pro forma, primarily from integration and restructuring expenses. The company took $825 million in write-offs on "content impairments and development".[70][71] The company confirmed cuts to children's programming development,[72] and abandoned the production of direct-to-streaming films for HBO Max—with Zaslav arguing that they lacked economic value and impact in comparison to theatrical releases. WBD renewed its contracts with Bloys and other key HBO executives, with Zaslav praising his performance as chief content officer.[73] Zaslav stated that a "10-year plan" was in development for DC Films, modeled after those of Marvel Studios,[74][75] while Perrette stated that the planned merger of Discovery+ and HBO Max would occur by summer 2023 in the United States, with other markets to follow.[76]

HBO subsequently faced a reorganization on August 15 to dismantle most of HBO Max's autonomous units, with HBO Max's head of comedy Suzanna Makkos now reporting to HBO's head of comedy Amy Gravitt, and layoffs within HBO Max's non-scripted, live-action family entertainment, international originals, and casting units, as well as HBO's acquisitions unit.[77][78] HBO Max also continued to remove and cancel some of its lesser-viewed original programming, particularly family-oriented and animated series.[79][80]

On August 15, 2022, Nexstar confirmed to another report by WSJ in June that it would buy a 75% controlling interest in The CW; WBD and Paramount would each retain a 12.5% ownership interest in the network.[81][82] Nexstar stated that Mark Pedowitz would remain chairman and CEO of the network. WBD and Paramount would still produce content for The CW as the network's main content suppliers, but Nexstar stated that the arrangement would be for the 2022–23 broadcast season, and it was given "the option to extend the partnership."[82][83] As the transaction did not need any regulatory approval (unlike the "Big Four" networks, The CW does not own any of its stations), Nexstar immediately took over the network's operations.[84]

In September 2022, WBD became the subject of a proposed class-action lawsuit by one of its shareholders, alleging that WarnerMedia was overinvesting in streaming content "without sufficient concern for return on investments", and had overstated the number of HBO Max subscribers by at least 10 million by counting inactivated subscriptions bundled with AT&T services—thus misleading investors in violation of the Securities Act. It also alleged that Discovery executives failed to warn investors that WarnerMedia's prospectus contained misleading statements.[85][86]

On September 28 during a company town hall, Zaslav addressed speculation that WBD was pursuing a possible sale as early as 2024, stating that they were "absolutely not for sale", and "have everything we need to be successful."[87][88] On October 11, Warner Bros. Television Group laid off 82 employees and eliminated 43 vacant positions as part of a restructuring that primarily impacts their unscripted and animation units. The restructuring saw the consolidation of Warner Horizon and Telepictures' creative operations, and the consolidation of Cartoon Network Studios' and Warner Bros. Animation's development and production teams (with the two studios remaining separate labels with their own distinct output).[89]

On October 3, 2022, Nexstar closed its deal to acquire a controlling interest in The CW. Mark Pedowitz resigned from his position as the network's chairman and CEO, with Dennis Miller stepping in as the president of The CW.[90]

In October 2022, it was announced that filmmaker James Gunn and producer Peter Safran would serve as the co-CEO and co-chairmen of DC Films which rebranded as DC Studios moving forward. The duo has signed a four-year deal that will oversee the production of films, television, and animation under the DC label. The pair will report directly to Zaslav, while also working alongside but independently with other members of the studio. Gunn will oversee creative development on DC projects, while Safran will oversee the business aspect.[91] During an earnings report in November 2022, it was announced that the launch of WBD's streaming service had been moved up to spring 2023.[92] Max was unveiled April 12, 2023.[93] In December 2022, CNN announced cutbacks and a reorganization to prioritize its "core" operations, resulting in sister channel HLN being brought under the auspices of Investigation Discovery and abandoning its remaining original live news programming.[94][95]

Turnover, cutbacks and restructuring operations (2023–present)

[edit]

In January 2023, WBD announced licensing agreements with the free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) services The Roku Channel and Fox Corporation's Tubi, featuring library content from Discovery, TLC, HGTV, Food Network, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Television, and HBO (including some of the series that were pulled from HBO Max earlier).[96][97]

On February 8, 2023, The Wall Street Journal reported that WBD had amended its plans to merge Discovery+ with HBO Max, with HBO Max's successor slated to include "most" Discovery content, and Discovery+ remaining operational to retain its subscriber base, and provide an alternative option for customers not interested in the higher-priced unified service.[98] On February 24, WBD CEO David Zaslav confirmed the change of plans during an earnings call, saying that Discovery+ has "profitable subscribers that are very happy with the product offering".[99]

In early-June 2023, Chris Licht was fired from CNN.[100][101] On June 20, 2023, WBD underwent a round of layoffs affecting around 100 employees in the U.S. Networks division, most notably including multiple Turner Classic Movies (TCM) executives such as Pola Changnon (who had been with Turner for over 25 years). WBD announced plans to place the channel under Cartoon Network head Michael Ouweleen.[102] It was also reported that WBD was preparing a deal to sell half of the published music catalog of Warner Bros. Entertainment (which consists primarily of music composed for its films and TV series, and is currently being administered by Universal Music Publishing Group) for around $500 million.[103] Amid concerns over the future of TCM, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and Paul Thomas Anderson met with Zaslav, and on June 23 it was announced that the channel would be placed under Warner Bros. Pictures Group heads Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy—who both affirmed the cultural significance of TCM and pledged to keep its programming "untouched and protected".[104][105][106]

In December 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery announced the purchase of Turkish streaming platform BluTV, with operations in the MENA region.[107][108] On February 16, 2024, RedBird Capital Partners (via its United Arab Emirates-backed partnership RedBird IMI) announced its intent to acquire All3Media—a WBD joint venture with Liberty Global—for £1.15 billion.[109] The acquisition was completed on May 16, 2024.[110] WBD had previously announced an intent to sell its stake in the company to British broadcaster ITV plc,[111] but the company declined.[112][113]

In April 2024, Warner Bros. Discovery New Zealand announced that it would shut down its news department Newshub (which produced bulletins for its free-to-air channel Three) in July 2024, citing declining local advertising revenue.[114][115] Newshub would be supplanted by a partnership with local media company Stuff, which launched an evening newscast under the ThreeNews banner using its resources and former Newshub staff.[116][117][118] In July 2024, CNN CEO Mark Thompson announced 100 employees would be laid off as part of a larger strategy to consolidate and integrate its television and digital operations.[119] A week later, a smaller number of WBD employees at Max and in production, business affairs, and finance were also let go.[120]

On July 18, 2024, it was reported by the Financial Times that Zaslav and WBD executives had been discussing the possibility of breaking up the company, so that WBD's unprofitable linear television networks could be separated from the more profitable Warner Bros. studio business and Max.[121][122] On July 24, 2024, the NBA officially announced new media rights agreements with Disney (ESPN and ABC), NBCUniversal (NBC and Peacock), and Amazon Prime Video beginning in the 2025–26 season, ending a nearly 36-year association between the NBA and TNT. WBD had attempted to invoke a condition in its contract allowing it to match offers made by competitors (with the company, in particular, targeting the package sold to Amazon), but the league argued that it did not sufficiently match Amazon's offer. WBD threatened legal action, claiming that the NBA had "grossly misinterpreted our contractual rights".[123]

In August 2024, WBD reported that it had lost $10 billion in the second quarter of 2024, relating to continued losses from its direct-to-consumer segment and the devaluation of its linear TV assets.[124]

In November 2024, WBD agreed to a legal settlement with the NBA. The settlement included access to NBA highlights at no additional cost for Bleacher Report and House of Highlights and allowed for WBD, under its TNT Sports division, to continue operating NBA TV and NBA.com for the NBA. The agreement also included live game rights for select international territories in Nordic Europe and South America. In a separate agreement with Disney, WBD agreed to sublicense its NBA studio show Inside the NBA to ESPN and ABC in exchange for ESPN sublicensing Big 12 college football and basketball games to TNT Sports.[125][126][127][128]

On December 12, 2024, WBD announced plans to reorganize its studios, networks and direct-to-consumer/streaming divisions in mid-2025. These businesses will be reorganized into two units: "Streaming & Studios"—which will include Warner Bros., HBO, and Max, and "Global Linear Networks". Zaslav stated that the new structure would enable greater flexibility and "potential future strategic opportunities". It will also insulate WBD's declining cable networks from its more profitable studio and direct-to-consumer businesses.[129]

Assets

[edit]

Warner Bros. Discovery consists of eight primary business divisions:[47]

Leadership

[edit]

References

[edit]
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