Warner Bros. Discovery

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Warner Bros., Turner Broadcasting System, Scripps Networks Interactive and Discovery, Inc. have conjoined histories over the years. Warner Bros. was founded in 1923 by four brothers, Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner, the company established itself as a leader in the American film industry before diversifying into animation, television, and video games and is one of the "Big Five" major 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.

In 1979, Warner formed a joint venture with credit card company American Express called Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment. 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 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). In 1982, Warner purchased Popular Library from CBS Publications.

Meanwhile, Cable Education Network was founded in 1985 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.

On October 10, 1996, Time Warner acquired the Turner Broadcasting System; but the company later merged with AOL to form AOL Time Warner in 2001 and reverted back to Time Warner name in 2003. 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 in January 2018 and is now known as Dotdash Meredith. Discovery Communications acquired Scripps Networks Interactive in March 2018 and was renamed to Discovery, Inc. while AT&T acquired Time Warner that June. In March 2019, AT&T dissolved the Turner Broadcasting System as part of its reorganization of its media assets.

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Warner Bros.

Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Founded in 1923 by four brothers, Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner, the company established itself as a leader in the American film industry before diversifying into animation, television, and video games, and is one of the "Big Five" major American film studios, as well as a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA).

Kinney National Company

Kinney National Company

Kinney National Service, Inc. was an American conglomerate company from 1966 to 1972. Its successors were National Kinney Corporation and Warner Communications, Time Warner, AOL Time Warner, and WarnerMedia and its current successor is Warner Bros. Discovery. Kinney National's predecessors were Kinney Service Corporation and National Cleaning Contractors, Inc., whose merger began in January 1966 and was completed in August of the same year. National Cleaning Contractors had been founded in 1886 by Louis Frankel and Max Sweig as National Window Cleaning & House Renovating Co., and was later known as National House Cleaning Contractors, Inc.

WarnerMedia

WarnerMedia

Warner Media, LLC was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States.

Turner Broadcasting System

Turner Broadcasting System

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. was an American television and media conglomerate. Founded by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner on October 10, 1996. As of April 2022, all of its assets are now owned by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). The headquarters of Turner's properties are largely located at the CNN Center in Downtown Atlanta, and the Turner Broadcasting campus off Techwood Drive in Midtown Atlanta, which also houses Turner Studios. Some of their operations are housed within WBD's corporate and global headquarters inside 30 Hudson Yards in Manhattan's West Side district, and at 230 Park Avenue South in Midtown Manhattan, both in New York City, respectively.

Discovery, Inc.

Discovery, Inc.

Discovery, Inc. was an American multinational mass media factual television conglomerate based in New York City. Established in 1985, the company operated a group of factual and lifestyle television brands, such as the namesake Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Science Channel, and TLC. In 2018, the company acquired Scripps Networks Interactive, adding networks such as Food Network, HGTV, and Travel Channel to its portfolio. Since the purchase, Discovery described itself as serving members of "passionate" audiences, and also placed a larger focus on streaming services built around its properties.

Discovery Channel

Discovery Channel

Discovery Channel is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. As of June 2012, Discovery Channel was the third most widely distributed subscription channel in the United States, behind now-sibling channel TBS and The Weather Channel; it is available in 409 million households worldwide, through its U.S. flagship channel and its various owned or licensed television channels internationally.

Scripps Networks Interactive

Scripps Networks Interactive

Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (SNI) was an American mass media company, which was formed on July 1, 2008, and acquired by and merged into Discovery Communications on March 6, 2018. It was formed in 2008, through the spin-off of the E. W. Scripps Company's cable television networks and online assets. Discovery Communications completed its acquisition of SNI after receiving approval from the United States Department of Justice and European Commission on March 6, 2018. It was the owner of several major factual television cable channels, including Food Network, HGTV and Travel Channel, and operated or held stakes in localized international versions of these brands. SNI also owned Polish broadcaster TVN and half of the British channel group UKTV.

Harry Warner

Harry Warner

Harry Morris Warner was an American studio executive, one of the founders of Warner Bros., and a major contributor to the development of the film industry. Along with his three younger brothers Warner played a crucial role in the film business and played a key role in establishing Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc, serving as the company president until 1956.

Albert Warner

Albert Warner

Abraham "Albert" Warner was an American film executive who was one of the founders of Warner Bros. He established the production studio with his brothers Harry, Sam, and Jack L. Warner. He served as the studio's treasurer, until he sold his stock in 1956.

Sam Warner

Sam Warner

Samuel Louis Warner was an American film producer who was the co-founder and chief executive officer of Warner Bros. He established the studio along with his brothers Harry, Albert, and Jack L. Warner. Sam Warner is credited with procuring the technology that enabled Warner Bros. to produce the film industry's first feature-length talking picture, The Jazz Singer. He died in 1927, on the day before the film's enormously successful premiere.

Jack L. Warner

Jack L. Warner

Jack Leonard Warner was a Canadian-American film executive, who was the president and driving force behind the Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. Warner's career spanned some forty-five years, its duration surpassing that of any other of the seminal Hollywood studio moguls.

Warner Bros. Animation

Warner Bros. Animation

Warner Bros. Animation Inc. is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros., a flagship of Warner Bros. Discovery. As the successor to Warner Bros. Cartoons, which was active from 1933 to 1969, the studio is closely associated with the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies characters, among others. Warner Bros. re-established its animation division in 1980 to produce Looney Tunes–related works, and Turner Broadcasting System merged with WBD predecessor Time Warner in 1996. In March 2001, Hanna-Barbera was absorbed into the studio.

Formation (2021–2022)

The company's initial draft wordmark.

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.^[5][6] 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.^[7][8][9]

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.^[7] 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 HBO Max, to reach 400 million global subscribers.^[8] It was stated that the company would aim to achieve $3 billion in cost savings via synergies within two years.^[10]

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. 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."^[11][12]

In an SEC Filing on November 18, 2021, Discovery Inc. 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.^[13]

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.^[14] 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.^[15]

On December 22, 2021, the transaction was approved by the European Commission.^[16][17] 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 WB co-owner Tribune Broadcasting in 2019) was considered a leading bidder.^[18] 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.^[19] 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.^[20] 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."^[21][22]

On January 26, 2022, AT&T CEO John Stankey stated that the merger was expected to close sometime during the second quarter of 2022.^[23][24] 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.^[25][26] The transaction was approved by the Brazilian antitrust regulator Cade on February 7,^[27] followed by the United States Department of Justice on February 9.^[28] 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.^[29][30]

Beginning of operations (2022–present)

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.^[31][32] The merger was officially completed on April 8, 2022, with trading beginning on the Nasdaq on April 11.^[33] 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.^[34]

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).^[35][36][37]

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.^[38] 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.^[39] 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.^[40][41][42]

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.^[43] It was reported that the company had also suspended scripted development at TBS and TNT, to evaluate their strategies moving forward.^[44] The following day, Zaslav purchased approximately $1 million worth of WBD stock.^[45]

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 will be overseen by Finch as head of U.S. Networks, while the studios under the Kids, Young Adults and Classics division was moved under Warner Bros. Television.^[46][47][48] 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.^[49][50] On June 9, WBD named former Discovery and Univision executive Luis Silberwasser as chairman of Sports.^[51][52]

In July 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.^[53] 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.^[54][55] Alan Horn also rejoined Warner Bros. as a consultant.^[56]

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,^[57] live-action children's programming development,^[58] 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.^[59]

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".^[60][61] The company confirmed cuts to children's programming development,^[62] 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.^[63] Zaslav stated that a "10-year plan" was in development for DC Films, modeled after those of Marvel Studios,^[64][65] 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.^[66]

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.^[67][68] HBO Max also continued to remove and cancel some of its lesser-viewed original programming, particularly family-oriented and animated series.^[69][70]

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.^[71][72]

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."^[73][74] 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).^[75]

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 will be 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.^[76] 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.^[77] 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.^[78][79]

On January 5, 2023, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels confirmed that the company will no longer perform tax-write-offs.^[80] In January 2023, WBD announced licensing agreements with advertiser-supported video on demand streaming services The Roku Channel and Fox Corp's Tubi and they would launch several WBTV-branded free-ad-supported television channels, that would feature content from WBD's television channels and Warner Bros. Television Studios, as well as films from Warner Bros. Pictures (some of which were previously removed from HBO Max), including Eight Is Enough, Cake Boss, Westworld, Babylon 5, The Bachelor, The Nevers, First Dates, Head of the Class, Hearts in Atlantis, How It's Made and Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta, among others.^{[81][82][83][84]} 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.^[85] 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".^[86]

In March 2023, WBD's new streaming service was set to be unveiled beginning April 12, 2023.^[87]

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Bloomberg News

Bloomberg News

Bloomberg News is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg Television, Bloomberg Radio, Bloomberg Businessweek, Bloomberg Markets, Bloomberg.com, and Bloomberg's mobile platforms. Since 2015, John Micklethwait has served as editor-in-chief.

AT&T

AT&T

AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile telephone services in the U.S. As of 2022, AT&T was ranked 13th on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations, with revenues of $168.8 billion.

Media conglomerate

Media conglomerate

A media conglomerate, media group, or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises, such as music, television, radio, publishing, motion pictures, theme parks, or the Internet. According to the magazine The Nation, "Media conglomerates strive for policies that facilitate their control of the markets around the world."

Discovery, Inc.

Discovery, Inc.

Discovery, Inc. was an American multinational mass media factual television conglomerate based in New York City. Established in 1985, the company operated a group of factual and lifestyle television brands, such as the namesake Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Science Channel, and TLC. In 2018, the company acquired Scripps Networks Interactive, adding networks such as Food Network, HGTV, and Travel Channel to its portfolio. Since the purchase, Discovery described itself as serving members of "passionate" audiences, and also placed a larger focus on streaming services built around its properties.

David Zaslav

David Zaslav

David Michael Zaslav is an American media executive who currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Warner Bros. Discovery. Zaslav spearheaded the transaction between AT&T and Discovery to combine with WarnerMedia and create the combined Warner Bros. Discovery in April 2022.

Jason Kilar

Jason Kilar

Jason Alan Kilar is an American businessman. He was the CEO of WarnerMedia from May 2020 to April 2022. He was previously an Amazon executive, the founding CEO of the short-lived Vessel, and the CEO of Hulu.

Netflix

Netflix

Netflix, Inc. is an American media company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it operates the over-the-top subscription video on-demand service Netflix brand, which includes original films and television series commissioned or acquired by the company, and third-party content licensed from other distributors. Netflix is a member of the Motion Picture Association—having become the first streaming company to become a member.

HBO Max

HBO Max

HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service which is the property of parent subsidiary WarnerMedia Direct, LLC, a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Global Streaming & Interactive Entertainment, a division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, and their related brands. The service also carries first-run programming from the HBO pay television service, original programming under the "Max Originals" banner, and content acquired via third-party library deals and co-production agreements.

Discovery+

Discovery+

Discovery+ is an American streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). The service focuses on factual programming drawn from the libraries of Discovery's main channel brands, as well as original series, and other acquired content.

European Commission

European Commission

The European Commission (EC) is part of the executive of the European Union (EU), together with the European Council. It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission headed by a President. It includes an administrative body of about 32,000 European civil servants. The Commission is divided into departments known as Directorates-General (DGs) that can be likened to departments or ministries each headed by a Director-General who is responsible to a Commissioner.

Paramount Global

Paramount Global

Paramount Global is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate controlled by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was formed on December 4, 2019, as ViacomCBS Inc. through the merger of the second incarnations of CBS Corporation and Viacom. The company changed its name to Paramount Global on February 16, 2022, the day after its Q4 earnings presentation.

Nexstar Media Group

Nexstar Media Group

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. is an American publicly traded media company with headquarters in Irving, Texas, Midtown Manhattan, and Chicago. The company is the largest television station owner in the United States, owning 197 television stations across the U.S., most of which are affiliates with the four "major" U.S. television networks, and MyNetworkTV. It also operates all of the stations owned by affiliated companies, such as Mission Broadcasting and Vaughan Media, under local marketing agreements, and operates major TV network The CW through a 75% majority stake, two terrestrial television networks airing classic shows, Antenna TV and Rewind TV, and has full or partial ownership stakes in three pay television networks.

Warner Bros. Discovery consists of nine primary business divisions:^[37]

• Warner Bros. Entertainment consists of assets including DC Studios, Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, Turner Entertainment, The Wolper Organization, WaterTower Music and Warner Bros. Studio Operations.
  • Warner Bros. Pictures Group consists of the company's filmed entertainment and theatrical entertainment businesses, including Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, Warner Animation Group and Castle Rock Entertainment. The division is led by former 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 50% of All3Media and 12.5% of The CW. The division is led by Channing Dungey.
• Home Box Office, Inc. is the parent company of the HBO and Cinemax pay television services. The division, which also oversees the production of Warner Bros. Discovery's streaming service HBO Max Originals as well as the former Discovery joint venture Magnolia Network, is led by chairman and chief executive officer Casey Bloys.
• CNN Global operates the CNN news channel and other global broadcast news assets owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, including sister network HLN and various international CNN branches. The division is led by Chris Licht.
• 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.^[88]
• Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks owns and/or operates most of the company's linear cable networks in the United States, including the former brands of Discovery Communications channels (such as Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, OWN, and Investigation Discovery), Scripps Networks Interactive channels (such as Food Network and Cooking Channel with Nexstar Media Group, and HGTV), and Turner Broadcasting System channels (including TBS, TNT, TruTV, Turner Classic Movies, and Cartoon Network/Adult Swim among others). The division is led by Kathleen Finch.
• Warner Bros. Discovery 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 AT&T SportsNet, while the European division handles Warner Bros. Discovery's international sports operations, including Eurosport, Golf Digest and BT Sport, and the sports division of Warner Bros. Discovery in Latin America, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Latin America which owns the sports channel TNT Sports which replaces 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 HBO Max and Discovery+, video game publisher Warner Bros. Games, and the digital media company Rooster Teeth. The division is led by JB Perrette.
• Warner Bros. Discovery Global Brands and Experiences manages Warner Bros. theme parks and studio tours. Additional business segments include divisions responsible for Global Content Distribution (which comprises Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment) and Advertising Sales. The division is led by Bruce Campbell, who serves as the company's Chief Revenue Officer.
• 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 in New Zealand, as well as responsible for the distribution of linear networks from CNN Global and Warner Bros. Discovery Sports. 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),^[89] and Warner Bros. Discovery Americas.

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List of assets owned by Warner Bros. Discovery

List of assets owned by Warner Bros. Discovery

Warner Bros. Discovery is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate based in New York City. The company works in the following areas: film, television, cable networks and publishing operations.

List of libraries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery

List of libraries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery

This is a list of content libraries and catalogs that are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.

DC Studios

DC Studios

DC Studios is an American film, television, and animation studio that is a division of Warner Bros., which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). It is dedicated to the production of films, series, and animations based on characters from DC Comics, among them is their flagship franchise, the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). James Gunn and Peter Safran assumed control of the company, on November 1, 2022. Previously, Walter Hamada was the president of DC Films from 2018 until his departure in October 2022.

Turner Entertainment

Turner Entertainment

Turner Entertainment Company is an American multimedia company founded by Ted Turner on August 2, 1986. Purchased by Time Warner on October 10, 1996 as part of its acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), the company was largely responsible for overseeing the TBS library for worldwide distribution. In recent years, this role has largely been limited to being the copyright holder, as it has become an in-name-only subsidiary of Warner Bros., which currently administers their library.

David L. Wolper

David L. Wolper

David Lloyd Wolper was an American television and film producer, responsible for shows such as Roots, The Thorn Birds, and North and South, and the theatrically-released films L.A. Confidential and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971). He was awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the 57th Academy Awards in 1985 for his work producing the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, as well as helping to bring the games there. His 1971 film about the study of insects, The Hellstrom Chronicle, won an Academy Award.

New Line Cinema

New Line Cinema

New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and is a film label of Warner Bros.

Castle Rock Entertainment

Castle Rock Entertainment

Castle Rock Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded in 1987 by Martin Shafer, director Rob Reiner, Andrew Scheinman, Glenn Padnick and Alan Horn. It is a label of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924, and based in Beverly Hills, California.

Michael De Luca

Michael De Luca

Michael De Luca is an American film studio executive, film producer and screenwriter. The former president of production at both New Line Cinema and DreamWorks, De Luca has been nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Picture. De Luca formerly served as the chairman of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Motion Picture Group and currently serves as a co-chairperson and CEO of Warner Bros. Pictures Group.

Telepictures

Telepictures

Telepictures is an American television show and filmmaking company, currently operating as a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Television Studios. Telepictures was established in 1979 by David Salzman, Michael Jay Solomon, and Michael Garin as a television syndication firm.

Alloy Entertainment

Alloy Entertainment

Alloy Entertainment is a book packaging and television production unit of Warner Bros. Television Studios. It produces books, television series, and feature films.

Cartoon Network Studios

Cartoon Network Studios

Cartoon Network Studios is an American animation studio owned by the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros. Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. The studio is the production arm of Cartoon Network, and started operating on October 21, 1994, as a division of Hanna-Barbera until the latter was absorbed into Warner Bros. Animation in 2001.

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David Zaslav

David Zaslav

David Michael Zaslav is an American media executive who currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Warner Bros. Discovery. Zaslav spearheaded the transaction between AT&T and Discovery to combine with WarnerMedia and create the combined Warner Bros. Discovery in April 2022.

Debra L. Lee

Debra L. Lee

Debra L. Lee is an American businesswoman. She was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BET, the parent company for Black Entertainment Television from 2005 to May 28, 2018. Lee has sat on the board of directors for a number of companies/organizations, including the National Cable & Telecommunications Association the Ad Council, and the National Cable Television Association. Debra Lee is named one of the "100 Most Powerful Women in Entertainment" by The Hollywood Reporter due to her many achievements in her 30-plus year career at BET.

John C. Malone

John C. Malone

John Carl Malone is an American billionaire businessman, landowner, and philanthropist. He was chief executive officer (CEO) of Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI), a cable and media giant, for twenty-four years from 1973 to 1996. Malone is now chairman and largest voting shareholder of Liberty Media, Liberty Global, and Qurate Retail Group, and also owns 7% of Lionsgate and Starz Inc. He was interim CEO of Liberty Media, until succeeded by former Microsoft and Oracle CFO Greg Maffei. By most estimates, Malone is the largest private landowner in the United States, possessing upwards of 2.2 million acres, more than twice the size of Rhode Island.

HBO

HBO

Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based at Warner Bros. Discovery's corporate headquarters inside 30 Hudson Yards in Manhattan's West Side district. Programming featured on the network consists primarily of theatrically released motion pictures and original television programs as well as made-for-cable movies, documentaries, occasional comedy and concert specials, and periodic interstitial programs.

HBO Max

HBO Max

HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service which is the property of parent subsidiary WarnerMedia Direct, LLC, a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Global Streaming & Interactive Entertainment, a division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, and their related brands. The service also carries first-run programming from the HBO pay television service, original programming under the "Max Originals" banner, and content acquired via third-party library deals and co-production agreements.

Michael De Luca

Michael De Luca

Michael De Luca is an American film studio executive, film producer and screenwriter. The former president of production at both New Line Cinema and DreamWorks, De Luca has been nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Picture. De Luca formerly served as the chairman of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Motion Picture Group and currently serves as a co-chairperson and CEO of Warner Bros. Pictures Group.

Channing Dungey

Channing Dungey

Channing Nicole Dungey is an American television executive and the first black American president of a major broadcast television network. In 2020, she was announced as the new chairwoman and CEO of Warner Bros. Television Studios.

James Gunn

James Gunn

James Francis Gunn Jr. is an American filmmaker and executive. He began his career as a screenwriter in the mid-1990s, starting at Troma Entertainment with Tromeo and Juliet (1997). He then began working as a director, starting with the horror-comedy film Slither (2006), and moving to the superhero genre with Super (2010), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), The Suicide Squad (2021), and the forthcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023). In 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery hired Gunn and Peter Safran to become co-chairmen and co-CEOs of DC Studios.

DC Studios

DC Studios

DC Studios is an American film, television, and animation studio that is a division of Warner Bros., which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). It is dedicated to the production of films, series, and animations based on characters from DC Comics, among them is their flagship franchise, the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). James Gunn and Peter Safran assumed control of the company, on November 1, 2022. Previously, Walter Hamada was the president of DC Films from 2018 until his departure in October 2022.

Chris Licht

Chris Licht

Christopher Andrew Licht is an American television newsman and producer. Since May 2022, he has been the chairman and CEO of CNN. He is best known as the showrunner and executive producer of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, as well as CBS's executive vice president of special programming. He is also known for having launched Morning Joe on MSNBC, and the reboot of CBS This Morning.

CNN

CNN

CNN is a multinational news channel and website headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the Manhattan-based media conglomerate Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), CNN was the first television channel to provide 24-hour news coverage and the first all-news television channel in the United States.

Peter Safran

Peter Safran

Peter Safran is a British-American film producer and manager. He currently serves as the co-chairperson and CEO of DC Studios alongside James Gunn.