Time Warner acquired Turner Broadcasting System in 1996, allowing it to reenter the cable industry. In 2001, it merged withAmerica Online (AOL) to formAOL Time Warner in 2001, but the merger proved disastrous, and the company reverted to its former name, Time Warner, in 2003.[10]
In 2018, Discovery Communications acquired Scripps Networks Interactive (a 2008 spun off fromE. W. Scripps Company's cable division) and was renamed as Discovery, Inc.[13]AT&T acquired Time Warner, becomingWarnerMedia. In 2019, AT&T integrated its related assets into Warner's business divisions as part of its reorganization, effectively breaking up Turner Broadcasting System.[14]
AT&T and Discovery announced their merger on May 17, 2021; the merger would be structured as aReverse 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. The merger was expected to be completed in mid-2022.[15][16][17]
The merged company would be led by Discovery's current CEO,David Zaslav; WarnerMedia's CEOJason Kilar's position in the new company was uncertain.[15] Zaslav stated that the two companies would spend a combined US$20 billion annually on content (outpacingNetflix). The company aimed to expand their streaming services, which included WarnerMedia'sHBO Max, to reach 400 million global subscribers.[16]
On June 1, 2021, it was announced that the merged company would be known as Warner Bros. Discovery, and an interimwordmark was unveiled with the tagline "The stuff that dreams are made of"—a quote from the 1941 Warner Bros. filmThe Maltese Falcon, itself paraphrasingShakespeare'sThe Tempest.[18][19]
In anSEC 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.[20]
In November 2021, during an earnings call, Discovery Streaming CEO JB Perrette discussed possible options for itsDiscovery+ 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 noted that WBD may prioritize launching Discovery+ and HBO Max as a unified platform in markets where Discovery+ had yet to launch, such as other parts of Asia-Pacific.[21]
On December 22, 2021, the transaction was approved by theEuropean Commission.[22][23] On January 5, 2022,The Wall Street Journal reported that WarnerMedia andParamount Global (at the time named ViacomCBS) were exploring a possible sale of either a majority stake or all ofThe CW, and thatNexstar Media Group was considered a leading bidder.[24] 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.[25] The CW's then-president-and-CEOMark 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."[26][27]
On January 26, 2022, AT&T CEOJohn Stankey stated that the merger was expected to close sometime during the second quarter of 2022.[28][29] On February 1, 2022, it was reported that AT&T had finalized the structure of the merger: WarnerMedia would be spun offpro rata to AT&T's shareholders, and then merge into Discovery Inc. to form the new company.[30][31] The transaction was approved by the Brazilian antitrust regulatorCade on February 7,[32] followed by theUnited States Department of Justice on February 9.[33] 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.[34][35]
Textless version of the Warner Bros. Discovery logo.[36] It is based on the 1999 variant of the 1998Warner 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 held.[37][38] The merger was officially completed on April 8, 2022. Trading began onNasdaq on April 11.[39] At this time the company unveiled its final logo, designed byChermayeff & Geismar & Haviv, which features a rendition of Warner Bros.' long-time shield logo.[40]
The combined company retained several top executives from WarnerMedia, including film and television headsToby Emmerich andChanning Dungey, and HBO and HBO Maxchief 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'schief financial officer (CFO), JB Perrette as president and CEO of global streaming and interactive, and Discovery's chief lifestyle brands officerKathleen Finch—whose role expanded to cover most of the combined company's U.S. linear networks, besidesCNN (which was taken over byChris Licht, replacing the outgoingJeff Zucker),Magnolia Network (which reported to Bloys, after reporting directly to Zaslav under Discovery), and theTurner Sports unit (which would be overseen by the newly formed Warner Bros. Discovery Sports division).[41][42][43]
In an introductory town hall hosted byOprah Winfrey, 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.[44] He 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.[45] On April 21, 2022, Licht and Perrette announced the shutdown of CNN's streaming serviceCNN+, which had launched only 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 WBD properties.[46][47][48]
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 Netflix (whose stock declined after a quarterly loss in subscribers), describing Warner Bros. Discovery as 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 networks. He stated that HBO Max had "meaningful subscriberchurn", and that the planned merger of it with Discovery+ would help to reduce churn by offering a broader content mix.[49] It was reported that the company had suspended scripted development atTBS andTNT, to evaluate their strategies.[50] The following day, Zaslav purchased approximately $1 million worth of WBD stock.[51]
WBD delivered its second-quarter earnings report on August 4, 2022. Ahead of the report, the company performed surgery on HBO Max, including cutting new programming development in much of Europe,[62] live-action children's programming development,[63] and direct-to-streaming films—including notable August 3 cancellations of the nearly completed filmsBatgirl andScoob! Holiday Haunt as taxwrite-offs, and the quiet removals of multiple HBO Max original films from the platform along with upcoming releases.[64]
In the second quarter of 2022, WBD revealed $9.8 billion in revenue and a net loss of $2.2 billionpro forma, primarily from integration and restructuring expenses. The company took $825 million in write-offs on "content impairments and development".[65][66] The company confirmed cuts to children's program development,[67] 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; Zaslav praised Bloys' performance as chief content officer.[68] Zaslav stated that a "10-year plan" was in development for DC Films, modeled after those ofMarvel Studios,[69][70] while Perrette stated that the planned merger of Discovery+ and HBO Max would occur by summer 2023 in the United States, followed by other markets.[71]
HBO subsequently reorganized on August 15 to dismantle most of HBO Max's autonomous units. HBO Max's head of comedy Suzanna Makkos began reporting to HBO's head of comedy Amy Gravitt. Layoffs hit HBO Max's non-scripted, live-action family entertainment, international originals, and casting units, as well as HBO's acquisitions unit.[72][73] HBO Max also continued to remove and cancel some of its lesser-viewed original programming, particularly family-oriented and animated series.[74][75]
On August 15, 2022, Nexstar confirmed in June that it would buy a controlling 75% interest in The CW; WBD and Paramount would each retain a 12.5% ownership interest.[76][77] Nexstar stated that Mark Pedowitz would remain its chairman and CEO. WBD and Paramount would remain The network's main content suppliers, but Nexstar stated that the arrangement would be for the2022–23 broadcast season, and it retained the option to extend the partnership.[77][78] As the transaction did not require regulatory approval (unlike the"Big Four" networks, The CW does not own stations), Nexstar immediately took over the network's operations.[79]
In September 2022, WBD became the subject of a proposedclass-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 withAT&T services—thus misleading investors in violation of theSecurities Act. It also alleged that Discovery executives failed to warn investors that WarnerMedia'sprospectus contained misleading statements.[80][81]
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".[82][83] On October 11, Warner Bros. Television Group laid off 82 employees and eliminated 43 vacant positions as part of a restructuring that primarily impacted their unscripted and animation units. The restructuring saw the consolidation of Warner Horizon andTelepictures' creative operations, and the consolidation of Cartoon Network Studios' andWarner Bros. Animation's development and production teams (with the two studios retaining separatelabels with distinct output).[84]
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, replaced by Dennis Miller as president.[85] Later that month, it was announced that filmmakerJames Gunn and producerPeter Safran would serve as co-CEOs and co-chairs of DC Films which rebranded as DC Studios. The duo signed a four-year deal to oversee film, television, and animation production for DC. The pair reported directly to Zaslav, while working independently with other members of the studio. Gunn would oversee creative development on DC projects, while Safran took the business aspect.[86] An earnings report in November 2022, announced that the launch of WBD's streaming service had been moved up to spring 2023.[87]Max was unveiled April 12, 2023.[88] In December 2022, CNN announced cutbacks and a reorganization to prioritize its "core" operations, resulting in sister channelHLN being brought under the auspices ofInvestigation Discovery and abandoning its remaining original live news programming.[89][90]
Declining turnover, cutbacks and restructuring (2023–2025)
In January 2023, WBD announced licensing agreements withfree ad-supported streaming television (FAST) servicesThe Roku Channel andFox Corporation'sTubi, featuring library content from Discovery, TLC, HGTV, Food Network, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Television, and HBO (including series that were pulled from HBO Max).[91][92]
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.[93] On February 24, WBD CEO David Zaslav confirmed the change of plans, saying that Discovery+ has "profitable subscribers that are very happy with the product offering".[94]
In early-June, Licht was fired from CNN.[95][96] On June 20 WBD underwent a round of layoffs affecting around 100 employees in the U.S. Networks division, most notably including multipleTurner 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 headMichael Ouweleen.[97] It was also reported that WBD was preparing a deal to sell half of thepublished music catalog of Warner Bros. Entertainment (which films and television scores, and is administered byUniversal Music Publishing Group) for around $500 million.[98] Amid concerns over the future of TCM,Martin Scorsese,Steven Spielberg, andPaul Thomas Anderson met with Zaslav, and on June 23 the company announced that the channel would move under Warner Bros. Pictures Group headsMichael De Luca and Pamela Abdy—who both affirmed the cultural significance of TCM and pledged to keep its programming "untouched and protected".[99][100][101]
In December 2023, WBD announced the purchase of Turkish streaming platformBluTV, with operations in theMENA region.[102][103] On February 16, 2024,RedBird Capital Partners (via itsUnited Arab Emirates-backed partnership RedBird IMI) announced its intent to acquireAll3Media—a WBD joint venture withLiberty Global—for £1.15 billion.[104] The acquisition was completed on May 16, 2024.[105]
In April 2024,Warner Bros. Discovery New Zealand announced that it would shut downNewshub (which produced bulletins for its free-to-air channelThree) in July 2024, citing declining local advertising revenue.[106][107] Newshub was supplanted by a partnership with local media companyStuff, which launched an evening newscast under theThreeNews banner.[108][109][110] In July 2024, CNN CEO Mark Thompson announced 100 layoffs.[111] A week later, additional WBD employees at Max and in production, business affairs, and finance were also let go.[112]
On July 24, theNBA announced new media rights agreements withDisney (ESPN andABC),NBCUniversal (NBC andPeacock), andAmazon 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 (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".[113]
In August, 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 television assets.[114]
In November WBD agreed to a settlement with the NBA. The settlement included access to NBA highlights at no additional cost forBleacher Report andHouse of Highlights and allowed WBD, under itsTNT Sports division, to continue operatingNBA TV and NBA.com. The agreement included live game rights for select international territories in Nordic Europe and South America. In a separate agreement withDisney, WBD agreed to a deal to moveInside the NBA toESPN andABC (TNT Sports continuing to produce the program), in exchange for ESPN sublicensingBig 12 college football and basketball games to TNT Sports.[115][116][117][118]
On March 24, 2025, WBD announced that it would buy a 30% minority stake inDubai-basedOSN Streaming Limited for $57 million.[119]
On July 18, 2024,Financial Times reported that Zaslav and WBD executives had been discussing the possibility of breaking up the company, to insulate unprofitable linear television networks from more profitable studio and direct-to-consumer businesses.[122][123] On December 12 WBD announced plans to reorganize. These businesses would be reorganized into two units: Streaming & Studios would 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".[124]
On May 8 CNBC'sDavid Faber reported that WBD was "moving towards" the possibility of divesting its Global Linear Networks division as an independent company, followingNBCUniversal's plan to spin off most of its cable networks as a new public company controlled by Comcast shareholders known asVersant.[125][126] Plans were officially announced on June 9, 2025.[127] WBD announced on July 28 that the two companies would be known as Warner Bros. and Discovery Global respectively.[128][129][130][131]
Warner Bros. will include the Warner Bros. film, television, and video game studios, DC Studios, DC Entertainment, Cartoon Network Studios, HBO and HBO Max, and TCM. Discovery Global will be led by current WBD CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels, and include assets such as WBD's linear television brands and Discovery+ and its library would remain with Warner Bros. Television Group, whileWarner Bros. International Television Production will go to Discovery Global. Sports rights would be divided between the two companies. TNT Sports' US assets would go to Discovery Global, and TNT Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland to Warner Bros. The transactions were expected to complete in mid-2026; the split is structured to be tax-free; Discovery Global will assume Warner Bros.' debt.[127][132][133][130] On September 10, 2025, Zaslav stated that the split was on track for completion by April 2026.[134] Part of the split included that Warner Bros. Corporation would move their global headquarters from New York City to Burbank.
Robert Fishman ofMoffettNathanson believed that Paramount Skydance was pursuing a strategy of consolidating streaming and studio businesses to take advantage of "a period of industry-wide instability", and that preempting the split by bidding for the entirety of WBD would prevent competitors from cherry-picking the "attractive" assets of the post-split Warner Bros. company.[140][143] While such an acquisition would not be subject toFCC scrutiny, unlike the Paramount acquisition, the sale has faced the possibility of antitrust issues due to itshorizontal integration of two legacy media conglomerates and film studios; such a merger would resemble the biggerDisneyacquisition of21st Century Fox in 2019.[142][138] SenatorElizabeth Warren criticized the prospective deal as a "dangerous concentration of power".[144]
On September 19, Faber reported that Paramount Skydance's bid could be an all-cash offer of approximately $22 to 24 per-share.[145][146] The previous day,Puck had reported thatNetflix was exploring a potential bid.[147][148][149]
On October 2, CNBC speculated thatComcast could be the biggest wild card for the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery's assets.[150] However, they questioned whether it would make sense for Comcast to counter Paramount Skydance's bid, as Comcast was in the process of pushing its own cable assets into Versant.[150] Comcast would also face more regulatory hurdles than Paramount Skydance, due to its contentious relationship with presidentDonald Trump.[151][152][149] On October 8 theNew York Post reported that Paramount Skydance was in talks with private equity firms, includingApollo Global Management (the company that ownsLegendary Entertainment andCox Media Group) to join its WBD bid, which could cost upwards of $60 billion.[153] The next day, David Ellison was questioned about the bid in an interview, and while not directly addressing it, Ellison didn't deny it was happening.[154]
On October 11, Bloomberg News reported that WBD had rejected Paramount Skydance's proposed offer of $20-a-share.[155]According to reports, Zaslav wants around $30-a-share,[154] and believes that he could unlock greater value by selling Warner Bros. once it splits from Discovery in 2026, given the likelihood that Warner Bros. could spark a bidding war.[155][150] In an October 14 interview,Apple'sEddy Cue dismissed speculation that his company was interested in acquiring Warner Bros.[156][157] Earlier on October 8, 2025, Netflix co-CEOGreg Peters similarly indicated that a bid from his company was unlikely. He said, "we come from a deep heritage of being builders rather than buyers".[158]
In October, Paramount Skydance reportedly made three failed bids, at $19, $22 and $23.50 per share.[159] On October 21, WBD announced that they had begun to review several "unsolicited" offers.[160] On October 27, Bloomberg News reported that if a Paramount Skydance deal was successful, Ellison would retain WBD's creative teams and most of its assets, including the cable networks.[161][162] Previous speculation that he was planning to immediately divest WBD's cable networks, along with Paramount Skydance's own cable networks was not supported.[163][164] Bloomberg also reported that Ellison intended to merge HBO Max withParamount+.[162] Ellison suggested that Zaslav might retain his position as co-CEO[165] and that he would be personally compensated with $500 million upon accepting the offer of sale.[166]
On October 31, Netflix was reported to be actively exploring a bid for WBD's studio and streaming assets. The acquisition would give Netflix control over IP such as theHarry Potter andDC Comics franchises, along withHBO’s premium dramas. Netflix stressed that it remains “predominantly focused on growing organically” and is not interested in owning legacy cable networks such asCNN andTNT.[167][168]
On November 6, 2025, it was reported thatComcast contractedGoldman Sachs andMorgan Stanley about a possible takeover of WBD's studio and streaming assets.[169] On November 20, Paramount Skydance, Netflix, and Comcast each officially submitted their bids.[170] According to CNBC, David Zaslav will announce whether to split the company in two or sell off the whole company to one of the potential buyers before the end of the year.[171]
Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming manages the company's direct-to-consumer platforms, online brands and gaming businesses, includingHBO Max,Warner Bros. Games, and the now-defunct digital media companyRooster Teeth. It also housesHome Box Office, Inc., the parent company ofHBO andCinemax.
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), and Advertising Sales.[172]
TNT Sports is the brand name used for sports-related divisions. The American division manages the company's domestic broadcast sports businesses, includingMLB Network, formerlyNBA TV, and the sports media websiteBleacher Report and previouslyAT&T SportsNet until it shut down in 2023, while the European division handles international sports operations, includingEurosport andTNT Sports UK, and Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Latin America which owns the sports channel TNT Sports LATAM which replacesEsporte Interativo. Both divisions are led byLuis Silberwasser.
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