Warner Bros. Discovery is soon to be... Warner Bros. and Discovery Global
Warner Bros. Discovery has begun to prepare for its impending divorce. As announced back in June, each half of the soon-to-be-historic conglomerate has already claimed a CEO and division of the company. Now, those two halves, which will operate as separate, publicly traded entities, have brand new names to take with them into single life.
The new company spun out of WBD’s current “Streaming & Studios” division will henceforth be known as “Warner Bros.,” Variety reports. This is where Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, DC Studios, HBO, HBO Max, Warner Bros. Gaming Studios, and all of their film and TV libraries will live when the separation is complete, which is expected to occur around mid-2026. The streaming and studios company gets to keep the Warner Bros. name to honor “the legacy of more than a century of industry-defining storytelling,” the company said in a statement.
The current “Global Networks” division will be called “Discovery Global.” That company will cover WBD’s entertainment, sports and news TV brands, including CNN, Discovery, and TNT Sports. It will also house digital platforms like Discovery+ and Bleacher Report, as well as a number of free-to-air channels across Europe. Its name was chosen “in recognition of the affinity and value this name has around the world in entertainment, news and sports,” the company said.
As previously announced, current WBD CEO David Zaslav will head up the new Warner Bros., while current CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels will take over Discovery Global. Zaslav will have to make due with a couple million less than he’s making now, which makes sense considering the company’s major debt issue is what got it into this mess in the first place. Regardless of any responsibility he may have had for those money troubles as CFO, Wiedenfels will receive an increased compensation package to “reflect his expanded responsibilities” as CEO of Discovery Global.
The pay cut doesn’t seem to have diminished Zaslav’s opinion of the company. (Well, at least not publicly.) “We will proudly continue the more than century-long legacy of Warner Bros. through our commitment to bringing culture-defining stories, characters and entertainment to audiences around the world,” he said in a statement. “Over the past several years, we have made important strides across the business, launching and investing in a profitable, global streaming service and reinvigorating our studios to return them again to an industry leading position. With our unmatched portfolio of storytelling IP coupled with our incredible creative partners, and now an executive team of proven, bold and committed creative and corporate leaders, we are in a strong position to launch and continue to meaningfully grow a company worthy of our storied past.” Hopefully the company’s future will be a little less chaotic.
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