Discovery and WarnerMedia Merger

[Dead2009]

Discovery and WarnerMedia merge, creating one of the largest U.S. media companies

AT&T's move to spin off WarnerMedia and combine it with Discovery comes as Netflix and Disney have shown the upside of direct-to-consumer streaming platforms.

www.nbcnews.com

AT&T announced on Monday that WarnerMedia and Discovery are merging to become a new company that will immediately become one of the largest U.S. media businesses.

The new company is the result of AT&T spinning off WarnerMedia, which owns a variety of major media properties including CNN, TBS, TNT, Warner Bros. film and television studio and HBO, into a new company. That company is merging with Discovery, which owns Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, TLC, the Food Network and various other media properties.

AT&T will receive $43 billion worth of cash, debt securities and WarnerMedia's retention of debt. The new company will be led by Discovery CEO David Zaslav.

It's a major deal that allows AT&T to undo one of the largest media acquisitions in history: the 2016 purchase of Time Warner for $109 billion. AT&T billed the deal as a chance to combine its telecommunications business, consumer data and media offerings in a way that could compete with major media and tech companies.

The move to spin off Time Warner, later named WarnerMedia, and combine it with Discovery comes as Netflix and Disney have emerged as the dominant players in the direct-to-consumer streaming market.

In its press release, AT&T said that the new company will be better positioned to compete in the increasingly important streaming world.

"This agreement unites two entertainment leaders with complementary content strengths and positions the new company to be one of the leading global direct-to-consumer streaming platforms," AT&T CEO John Stankey said in the press release. "It will support the fantastic growth and international launch of HBO Max with Discovery’s global footprint and create efficiencies which can be re-invested in producing more great content to give consumers what they want."

AT&T shareholders will own 71 percent of the new company, with Discovery shareholders getting 29 percent, according to an AT&T press release. The deal also allows AT&T to unload some of its debt, which had become the focus of analyst concern on Wall Street.

Stankey said the deal would help AT&T refocus.

 

[Nick]

So this is probably the most befuddling decisions for a logo. The font is... odd, and that tagline is so cheesy I can't believe it's actually on the official logo and not a meme or something. It looks like someone had 5-minutes to make a logo and half-assed those 5 minutes.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s Initial Logo for Wordmark Mocked Online

The name of the combined WarnerMedia-Discovery was revealed on as "Warner Bros. Discovery" -- along with a logo that drew derision.

variety.com

 

[Tristan]

So this is probably the most befuddling decisions for a logo. The font is... odd, and that tagline is so cheesy I can't believe it's actually on the official logo and not a meme or something. It looks like someone had 5-minutes to make a logo and half-assed those 5 minutes.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s Initial Logo for Wordmark Mocked Online

The name of the combined WarnerMedia-Discovery was revealed on as "Warner Bros. Discovery" -- along with a logo that drew derision.

variety.com

WHY IS THERE NO "..." AFTER THAT TAGLINE

 

[AlexanderMBush]

Small note: Discovery's CEO, David Zaslav, will be moving to the LA area to be much more hands on with Warner Bros; even having a direct office on the WB lot.

 

[quinnmac000]

Small note: Discovery's CEO, David Zaslav, will be moving to the LA area to be much more hands on with Warner Bros; even having a direct office on the WB lot.

That's not necessarily a win. Discovery makes money by producing content on the cheap hints why its focus is reality television.

 

[Nick]

It is official as of this past Friday, I believe:

 

[Nico]

I’m just hopeful that the merger means we’ll have an official home to DC films/television, maybe under a specific tab or header. I think I also read that the HBO Max app will be absorbed into Discovery+.

 

[Nick]

I’m just hopeful that the merger means we’ll have an official home to DC films/television, maybe under a specific tab or header. I think I also read that the HBO Max app will be absorbed into Discovery+.

I think I read the opposite- D+ absorbed into Max.

 

[Nico]

HBO Max and Discovery Plus Will Be Combined Into One Platform

HBO Max and Discovery Plus will become a combined streamer once Discovery and WarnerMedia have merged into Warner Bros. Discovery.

www.google.com

Looks like they may start as a bundle and the one app combo may take a few years. I’m assuming this is based on price point and customer integration. The article does say that they are looking into a a single login option in the meantime.

 

[CyborgDinosaur]

I’m just hopeful that the merger means we’ll have an official home to DC films/television, maybe under a specific tab or header. I think I also read that the HBO Max app will be absorbed into Discovery+.

A hub for DC already exists on HBO Max.

 

[Nico]

A hub for DC already exists on HBO Max.

Yup! That’s where I watch, but I want it to have more of a presence design/weight wise as Disney+ and Marvel. They’re making moves with all of this Batman content coming soon and I hope that continues.

 

[Nick]

I think it's hilarious that right before the acquisition became official, they launched arguably the biggest streaming disaster with the name recognition and the resources behind it that i've ever seen. They spent $250M or so on CNN+ only to only get 20,000 subs (and only 10k daily users), which mediocre to good youtubers are probably laughing their ass at.

I expect in the short term for CNN+ to join the HBO Max/Discovery+ "bundle" that they said they will be doing (so they can hide CNN+'s subscriber numbers) before eventually all of this is absorbed into the HBO Max app.

 

[Nico]

I really think that ultimately, the app is going to be called Warner Brothers. With individual brands underneath it to show the breath of programming. WB has long-standing name recognition.

 

[Nick]

I really think that ultimately, the app is going to be called Warner Brothers. With individual brands underneath it to show the breath of programming. WB has long-standing name recognition.

If they are going to change the name, then this is the time.

However, I think from the uptick in streaming use when people were out of work during the pandemic and 2021 when people were still hesitant to return to the theaters and HBO Max was making it pretty easy for them to stay away by giving their full theatrical slate away as long as you paid for a subscription.

I think people have basically finally come to know it as HBO Max and Max has built it's own name brand buy this point, that a change would only serve to confuse their customer base. HBO is the most premier name in television out there imo, so I have no issues with them sticking with that. It's a strength of theirs to own HBO, use it.

 

[Nico]

If they are going to change the name, then this is the time.

However, I think from the uptick in streaming use when people were out of work during the pandemic and 2021 when people were still hesitant to return to the theaters and HBO Max was making it pretty easy for them to stay away by giving their full theatrical slate away as long as you paid for a subscription.

I think people have basically finally come to know it as HBO Max and Max has built it's own name brand buy this point, that a change would only serve to confuse their customer base. HBO is the most premier name in television out there imo, so I have no issues with them sticking with that. It's a strength of theirs to own HBO, use it.

I see what you’re saying Nick, but brand mergers very rarely change the name quickly. Probably the easiest examples to point to are bank mergers. We often get a combined name, with the eventual name placed first. After a few years, they drop the second name.

I think we have a few years of Discovery+ and HBO bundle. Maybe a WB Discovery + name or not. Then WB+. As far as UI goes, Disney+ is the model I’d like to see.

Banner sections of DC, HBO, Discovery, CNN, Warner Brothers (which includes Potter).

 

[Nick]

I see what you’re saying Nick, but brand mergers very rarely change the name quickly. Probably the easiest examples to point to are bank mergers. We often get a combined name, with the eventual name placed first. After a few years, they drop the second name.

I think we have a few years of Discovery+ and HBO bundle. Maybe a WB Discovery + name or not. Then WB+. As far as UI goes, Disney+ is the model I’d like to see.

Banner sections of DC, HBO, Discovery, CNN, Warner Brothers (which includes Potter).

View attachment 16175

The longer the name stays HBO Max name, the stronger and more recognizable the name becomes. Streaming is in most people's daily lives in one way or another, if they are going to change, they can't allow the HBO Max name to become stronger. They need to change so people get used to the new name and become recognizable as the years go on.

As for the banner sections, HBO Max App actually does have a form of them, but they are hidden behind a part that needs to be expanded OR you need to scroll all the way down to the bottom of the app to find the "Hubs". All this is is some poor UI, though. It would only take someone who knows what they are doing a short while to move those tabs from the bottom to the top of the app.

 

[Nick]

 

[Nick]

Supposedly Zaslav was "irate" that AT&T launched CNN+ before the merger became official. They spent $300M building out, and paying talent for the service and that doesn't even include the marketing campaign they ran for it, only for Warner Discovery to announce yesterday that they were shutting it down just three weeks after it launched. It will last a grand total of 33 Days once the closure officially happens on April 30th.

Even Quibi, which was a huge bust in the mobile streaming realm, at least last 6 months and it's content was actually bought out to be Roku original content, so the financial loss wasn't as bad.



I got a good belly laugh here:

 

[Mad Dog]

and hardly anyone was watching. Their highest viewership number they ever hit was 10,000 actual viewers on one of their days....Pitiful.

 

[Nick]

and hardly anyone was watching. Their highest viewership number they ever hit was 10,000 actual viewers on one of their days....Pitiful.

Yup. 10,000 per day in daily viership numbers is laughable and regularly beat out many times over by youtubers doing content from their own home and didn’t have or need $300M to burn through.