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Title: Warner Bros. Discovery Splits Streaming From Cable TV

Link: https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/25/0...

Warner Bros Discovery will split into two separate publicly traded companies -
- one focused on its studios and streaming assets like HBO, DC Studios, and
HBO Max, and the other on its declining cable networks including CNN and TNT
Sports. The move, which unwinds the 2022 WarnerMedia-Discovery merger, is
expected by mid-2026 and is "the latest unraveling of decades of media
consolidation that created global conglomerates spanning content creation,
distribution and in some cases, telecommunications," reports Reuters. From
the report: The new streaming-and-studios company will include Warner Bros,
DC Studios and HBO Max - the crown jewels of WBD's entertainment library. The
networks unit, which will hold up to a 20% stake in its counterpart, will
house CNN, TNT Sports and Bleacher Report. CEO David Zaslav will lead the
streaming and studios unit, while CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels will head the
networks unit. The separation will be structured as a tax-free transaction
and is expected to be completed by mid-2026. "We've continued to analyze how
our industry is evolving," Zaslav told investors. "The right path forward
became increasingly clear ... to separate global networks and streaming and
studios into two independent, publicly traded companies." Most of the
company's debt would be held by the global networks company. WBD had gross
debt of $38 billion as of March. The company said it secured a $17.5 billion
bridge loan from J.P. Morgan that it would use to restructure its debt.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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