Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has denied the newly merged company is for sale.
In a global ‘Town Hall Meeting”, the first since the combination of AT&T’s Warner Media and Discovery, in April, Zaslav and other senior staff members set out their vision for the media giant and its place in the market.
They acknowledged current economic pressures that have led to a series of layoffs in the United States, Europe and around the world, saying it was difficult to say goodbye to colleagues.
Turning attention to merger rumours Zaslav was clear, “We are not for sale, absolutely, not for sale.” The identity of the mystery suitor remains unknown, but is widely thought to be Comcast, owners of Sky.
There was acknowledgement for the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon and the support it had received from broadcast networks, where WBD can reach 30% of US audiences.
WBD also remains committed to rolling HBO Max into Discovery+ at a point in the near future. Casey Bloys, President of HBO Programming, told the meeting that removal of content from HBO Max was more than a cost cutting move, but a response to what consumers were looking for. He said the well-reported Netflix subscriber loss had forced everyone in the streaming business to assess where best to make their money.
