Warner Bros. Discovery To Split Into Two Companies, Streaming & Studios And Global Networks

Comments

• macarthur_park@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

  Zaslav’s new Streaming & Studios outfit will consist of Warner Bros Television, Warner Bros Motion Picture Group, DC Studios, HBO and HBO Max, as well as their film and television libraries. Global Networks, meanwhile, will include premier entertainment, sports and news television brands around the world including CNN, TNT Sports in the U.S., and Discovery, top free-to-air channels across Europe, and digital products such as the profitable Discovery+ streaming service and Bleacher Report.

  So basically it sounds like they’re going to remove CNN, Discovery shows, and live sports from HBO Max. They’re effectively undoing the merger that they did just a few years ago, which is great because it was clearly a terrible idea. Add in the fact that they’re also reverting the name of “Max” to “HBO Max” and it’s a complete surrender of this shitty merger.

  Now the only thing left is to get rid of Zaslav, the originator of all these bad ideas.

  source

  • jbone@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

    That’s some intense bullshit business jargon cited in the article.

    source
  • golli@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

    They’re effectively undoing the merger that they did just a few years ago

    The big difference is that the declining cable networks and more importantly also the debt is apparently in the Global Networks company. Tbh i am not sure if there would have been any other solution to get those away Warner/HBO this clean.

    source

    • ExtantHuman@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

      Yeah the fact that all of the debt is staying with the merged company is tipping their hands. This is what Venture Capitalist companies do. This is why JoAnn fabrics is going under.

      Buy the company, somehow move the debt for the loan to buy the company onto the books of the company being bought. Fail to make up for those loan payments after a few years and then skin it off, only to have it shutter.

      source

      • -> View More Comments
• golli@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

  So after this brief merger they are already splitting again? But this time Discovery gets loaded up with the declining linear television parts and I assume also the huge pile of debt?

  Obviously share ownership adjusted accordingly, but I guess there would have been no other way to transfer the debt and declining business parts directly to discovery or someone else. Because no one would take that deal even for free.

  I might actually see this as a win for movie/television fans as I doubt there’d been a faster way for warner/HBO to become separated from the debt and cable stuff.

  The re-rebranding back to HBOmax makes more sense now.

  It’ll be interesting to see how this changes CEO pay. Does Zaslav take a pay cut since he now manages a much smaller company? I doubt it. I bet he gets another performance bonus and on the other side the former CFO now CEO of the new company will also be paid handsomely to handle the crappy parts. Leading to overall even more management salary.

  source
• NOT_RICK@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

  Time is a flat circle

  source