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Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming & Studios

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Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming & Studios
Company typeDivision
Industry
PredecessorsWarnerMedia Studios & Networks (studios)
Warner Bros. Discovery Global Streaming & Interactive Entertainment
FoundedApril 1, 2025; 3 months ago (2025-04-01)
Headquarters
New York City
,
U.S.
Area served
United States
Key people
David Zaslav (CEO)
Services
  • Broadcasting
  • Television
ParentWarner Bros. Discovery
Subsidiaries
Websitewbd.com
Footnotes / references
[1]

Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming & Studios is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that is a division of Warner Bros. Discovery and produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and recorded videos) through multiple platforms.

It combined the Global Streaming & Interactive Entertainment division of Warner Bros. Discovery with the Warner Bros. Entertainment film and television studios and the Home Box Office, Inc. units into Warner Bros. Discovery under one main unit.[2][3]

Background

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1923–1979

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2019–2022 WarnerMedia logo

Warner Bros., Turner Broadcasting System, Scripps Networks Interactive and Discovery, Inc. have conjoined histories. Warner Bros. was founded on April 4, 1923, by four brothers, Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner. The company established itself as a leader in the American film industry[4] before diversifying into animation, television, and video games and is one of the "Big Five" 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 it reincorporated as Warner Communications in 1972 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.[5][6]

Time-Life and Sterling Communications joined to launch Home Box Office—a premium pay television network service—in November 1972.

1979–1996

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In 1979, Warner Communications formed a joint venture with credit card company American Express called Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment. American Express acquired a 50% stake in Warner Communications' cable television holdings for $175 million.[7][8] 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 Communications 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).[9] In 1982, Warner Communications purchased Popular Library from CBS Publications. Meanwhile, in the same year, Cable Education Network was founded, launching The Discovery Channel three years later and was renamed to Discovery Communications in 1994.

1996–2021

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Time Warner, then known as Time Warner Entertainment, acquired the Turner Broadcasting System in 1996, allowing it to reenter the cable industry. In 2001, it merged with America Online (AOL) to form AOL Time Warner in 2001, but the merger proved disastrous, with the media company reverting to its former name, Time Warner, in 2003.[10]

Time Warner spun off its cable division (later known as Spectrum owned by Charter Communications) AOL (now owned by Yahoo! Inc.) in 2009, and Time Inc. was spun out in 2013, which was later acquired by Meredith Corporation and is now known as Dotdash Meredith.[11][12]

In 2018, Discovery Communications and AT&T acquired Scripps Networks Interactive (a 2008 spun off from E. W. Scripps Company's cable division)[13] and Time Warner, and were renamed to Discovery, Inc. and WarnerMedia respectively. In 2019, AT&T, WarnerMedia's new parent company, integrated its assets into Warner's business divisions as part of its reorganization of its media assets, effectively breaking up the Turner Broadcasting System.[14]

2022–2025

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In 2021, Discovery, Inc. acquired WarnerMedia for $43 billion;[2][3] the deal closed on April 8, 2022.[15]

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 would be overseen by Finch as head of U.S. Networks, while the studios under the Kids, Young Adults and Classics division (Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studios and Williams Street) was moved under Warner Bros. Television.[16][17][18] 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.[19][20]

Consolidation

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On April 1, 2025, Warner Bros. Discovery consolidated its flagship Warner Bros. film and television studios and the Global Streaming and Interactive Entertainment division under one roof under the Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming & Studios unit.[21][1]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Warner Bros Discovery 10K". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 27, 2025. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
  2. ^ a b Meredith, Steve; Kovach, Sam (May 17, 2021). "AT&T announces $43 billion deal to merge WarnerMedia with Discovery". CNBC. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Hayes, Dade (May 17, 2021). "David Zaslav And John Stankey Outline Plans For Merging Discovery And WarnerMedia, Addressing Future Of Jason Kilar, CNN, Streaming". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  4. ^ Yogerst, Chris (April 4, 2023). "How the Warner Brothers Got Their Film Business Started". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  5. ^ "Atari sold to Warner Communications". Atari®. Archived from the original on March 21, 2024. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  6. ^ Reckert, Clare (September 8, 1976). "WARNER SIGNS PACT TO PURCHASE ATARI". NY Times. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  7. ^ Kleinfield, N. r (November 24, 1982). "WARNER AMEX HEAD TO RESIGN". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  8. ^ Harris, Kathryn (June 12, 1985). "American Express OKs Sale of Cable-TV Unit : Also Seeks Quick Approval From Its Partner, Warner Communications, of Sweetened Offer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  9. ^ Henderson, Nell (August 10, 1985). "Warner Buys All Stock in Warner Amex". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on August 20, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  10. ^ Grocer, Stephen (June 15, 2018). "What Happened to AOL Time Warner?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  11. ^ Shepardson, David (May 18, 2016). "Charter Communications completes purchase of Time Warner Cable". Reuters. Archived from the original on March 30, 2024.
  12. ^ Tracy, Marc (October 6, 2021). "Barry Diller's Dotdash Agrees to Buy Meredith, a Magazine Giant". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  13. ^ Lee, Melissa (September 4, 1994). "Discovery Communications Looks to New Lands, Interactive Media". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 30, 2024.
  14. ^ Ho, Rodney; Kempner, Matt. "AT&T's WarnerMedia restructuring breaks apart Turner Broadcasting". Georgia Entertainment Scene (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  15. ^ Maas, Jennifer (April 8, 2022). "Discovery Closes Acquisition of AT&T's WarnerMedia". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on April 8, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  16. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (May 12, 2022). "Tom Ascheim Exits As President Of Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classic". Deadline. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  17. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (May 12, 2022). "Johanna Fuentes Departs As Head of Global Communications Studios & Networks Group At Warner Bros. Discovery". Deadline. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  18. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (May 11, 2022). "Brett Weitz Exits As General Manager Of TNT, TBS & truTV". Deadline. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  19. ^ Davis, Rebecca (January 13, 2022). "DAZN Nears Estimated $800 Million Deal to Acquire BT Sport". Variety. Archived from the original on May 14, 2022. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  20. ^ Metz, Axel (May 12, 2022). "BT Sport subscribers to get major package upgrade completely free of charge". TechRadar. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  21. ^ Hayes, Dade (December 12, 2024). "Warner Bros. Discovery Creates New Corporate Structure, Separating Linear Networks From Streaming & Studios; Stock Soars – Update". Deadline. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
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  • Warner Bros. Discovery
  • Business data for Warner Bros. Discovery:
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