Sources close to the company have clarified thatWarner Bros. Discoveryis not on the market for a buyer, following a slew of rumors ranging from a buyout to massive layoffs circulating around the company and its new management under David Zaslav. These allegations come amidst a massive and highly publicized wave of changes, cuts, and restructurings that have taken place since the merger.
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. was formed in April of 2022 after Discovery bought out WarnerMedia at a price point of around $43 billion. The two media giants then merged their considerable media and entertainment assets, splitting operations into several divisions and beginning a much-maligned crusade to cut costs across the board, leading to several controversies that made many questions if the company actually wanted some of its ownintellectual property like the DC.
RELATED:Keanu Reeves Returning For Constantine Sequel From Warner Bros.
Insiders at the company revealed toDeadlinethat some of these issues were discussed at an internal Zoom meeting held recently and headed by Zaslav, current CEO andface of recent controversial cancellations likeBatgirl. At the meeting, Zaslav discussed the state of the industry and the company’s place in its various entertainment product markets. “We have the strongest hand in the industry,” the CEO is reported as saying at the meeting. “We have everything we need to be successful to be the biggest entertainment media company in the world.” While the general messaging was largely vague, the CEO was adamant that there would not be a sale of the company under any circumstances.
While no further details were given, he was likely nipping rumors of a buyout by fellow media conglomerate Comcast, who is currently involved in a deal with Warner Bros competitor Disney to sell the company’s one-third stake inHulu for integration into Disney Plusin or before 2024. Many other important company figures also spoke at the meeting, giving summaries of various parts of the company operations and where they stand. These conversations included topics ranging from plans for the HBO Max content library to an update on the company’s cost-cutting progress, which is supposedly on track to break the goal in 2023.
Despite the wide scope of the hour-and-a-half-long meeting, discussion on the cancellation of projects like theBatgirlfilm and the allegedwriting-off ofFinal Spacefor tax purposeswas markedly absent, with none of the top brass that spoke at the meeting mentioning these dissatisfactory moves by the company. There was also no mention of layoffs coming, despite large cuts to the staffing of the advertising branch having been carried out and expected to continue. The lack of information on these issues has done little to pacify fans of the affected and potentially chopped properties, nor has it given members of staff satisfactory assurances for the future.
While the merger continues to fumble around for balance, several potentially high-impact projects are still in the air, including a large number of as-of-yet uncanceled cinematic projects, as well as theplanned merger of HBO Max and Discovery Plusinto one larger service. Just how effectivelyWarner Bros. Discoverycan leverage these future moves into a more cohesive and publicly palatable image is yet to be seen, however.
