Warner Bros. Discovery

Warner Bros Discovery, Inc. is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. The company will be formed though the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc., which is expected to be completed in the middle of April 2022.

Beginning
On May 16, 2021, Bloomberg News reported that AT&T was in talks with Discovery, Inc. for it to merge with WarnerMedia, the parent company of Warner Bros., to form a publicly-traded company that would be divided between its shareholders.

On May 17, 2021, AT&T announced that it had agreed to spin off its content subsidiary WarnerMedia (the former Time Warner, which AT&T acquired in 2018 for just over US$85 billion in an attempt to become a vertically integrated media conglomerate) and merge it with Discovery Inc. to form a new company, subject to regulatory approval. The merger, scheduled to be completed in mid-2022, will 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 will receive US$43 billion in cash and debt from the spin-off.

The new company will be led by Discovery's current CEO, David Zaslav, replacing WarnerMedia's CEO Jason Kilar. Zaslav stated that the two companies spend a combine US$20 billion annually on content (outpacing Disney, Netflix and Amazon). The company will aim to expand their streaming services, which includes WarnerMedia's HBO Max, to reach 400 million global subscribers.

Formation
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 dreams are made from", a line 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."

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 prioritise launching Discovery+ and HBO Max as a unified platform in markets where Discovery+ has yet to launch.

On December 22, 2021, the transaction was approved by the European Commission.

On January 5, 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported that WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS (now Paramount Global) 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. 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. 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. 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."

On January 26, 2022, AT&T CEO John Stankey stated that the merger was expected to close sometime during the second quarter of 2022. 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 with Discovery Inc. to form the new company. The transaction was approved by the Brazilian antitrust regulator Cade on February 7, followed by the United States Department of Justice on February 9.

On February 10, 2022, it was reported Discovery's shareholders would vote on the transaction on March 11.

Leadership

 * David M. Zaslav - President and Chief Executive Officer of Warner Discovery
 * Andy Forsell - Head of Operations, Warner Plus
 * Casey Bloys - Chief Content Officer, Warner Plus
 * Toby Emmerich - Head of Original Films, Warner Plus
 * Channing Dungey - Head of Scripted Originals, Warner Plus
 * Nancy Daniels - Head of Factual and Unscripted Programming, Warner Plus
 * Kathleen Finch - President and CEO, Discovery Lifestyle Networks
 * Tom Ascheim - Head of Kids, Family and Branded Programming, Warner Plus
 * Ann Sarnoff - Chairwoman and CEO, Warner Discovery Studios & Networks
 * Toby Emmerich - Chairman, Warner Bros. Pictures Group
 * Channing Dungey - Chairwoman, Warner Bros. Television Studios
 * Casey Bloys - President and CEO, HBO and General Entertainment Brands
 * Nancy Daniels - President and CEO, Discovery Factual Networks
 * Kathleen Finch - President and CEO, Discovery Lifestyle Networks
 * Tom Ascheim - President and CEO, Hanna Barbera Media Group
 * Jim Lee - Chief Creative Officer, DC Entertainment
 * David Haddad - President, Warner Bros. Interactive
 * Jeff Zucker - Chairman, Warner Discovery News & Sports
 * Lenny Daniels - President, Turner Sports
 * Gerhad Zellier - President, Warner Discovery International
 * JB Perrette - President and CEO, Warner Discovery Networks International
 * Tony Gloncaves - President and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery Global Entertainment
 * Pam Lifford - Head of Consumer Products, Warner Discovery Global Entertainment