• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, Yesterday

Changes come so quickly in the TV business these days that only three years after Warner Media and Discovery Inc. merged, they are now unmerging.

The colossal merger that created Warner Bros. Discovery in April 2022 is now unraveling into two separate companies named -- you guessed it -- Warner Bros. and Discovery.

When the merger was announced in 2022, it was ballyhooed by the newly formed company as a timely marriage of a revered brand in the production of movies and TV shows for 99 years (Warner Bros.) and a 37-year-old basic cable company that just six years earlier was proudly selling itself at the Upfronts as a standalone, all-non-scripted content company (Discovery).

The merger created a content behemoth positioned to compete on a more or less equal footing with the other big companies in the streaming-content arms race.

The fact that WBD is now splitting into two just three years later would indicate that that plan did not work out so well. This divorce is not yet final, but still wending its way to a conclusion. 

In a press release earlier this week, WBD officially announced that the Warner Bros. spinoff will henceforth be known as “Warner Bros.” 

The release also announced that the Discovery side will be named “Discovery Global.” 

The word “Global” has been appended onto “Discovery” in the manner of Paramount Global.

This begs the question: Why wasn’t Warner Bros. renamed “Warner Global”?

And so, as much imagination went into naming these two entities as the naming of the merged company in 2022 as Warner Bros. Discovery.

What bugs me about this merger/unmerger is that I feel I’ve been had. As a journalist, I am on the receiving end of corporate announcements in which every day is a sunny day.

When the WB-Discovery merger was first announced, it was promoted as the sunniest day of the year. 

The new company would now take its place among the TV giants with a library of scripted and non-scripted content that would be second to none.

In these kinds of announcements, mergers like this one are always described as positioning the new entity for future growth and prosperity. 

I suppose this did not happen for the merged WBD. Otherwise, this split would never have been undertaken, right?

Nevertheless, the same sunny promises are now being made for the unmerged companies.

“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,” said a prepared statement from David Zaslav, president and CEO of WBD who will have his responsibilities reduced by 50% when he becomes president and CEO of just Warner Bros.

Looking toward the new sunny future for the standalone WB, Zaslav avers that the company’s “unmatched portfolio of storytelling IP [such as Bugs Bunny, above photo] coupled with our incredible creative partners, and now an executive team of proven, bold and committed creative and corporate leaders [puts the new/old WB] in a strong position to launch and continue to meaningfully grow a company worthy of our storied past.”

The outlook for the new Discovery Global was just as sunny. “As we prepare for the launch of Discovery Global, our enthusiasm for the opportunities ahead only grows thanks to our leading portfolio of beloved brands and programming, our worldwide footprint for adults, kids and families, and now the experienced and talented leadership team who will ensure strong operational execution to drive strategic investments and deliver compelling content to global audiences,” says a long, run-on sentence in a statement in the press release from Gunnar Wiedenfels, CFO of WBD who will become president and CEO of Discovery Global.

So, what shall we look for in 2028? A re-merger?

If so, it will undoubtedly be positioned as a marriage of Warner’s “unmatched portfolio of storytelling IP” and Discovery’s “leading portfolio of beloved brands and programming,” just like the last time. 

Photo credit: MeTV/Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.