American entertainment firm Warner Bros. Discovery Inc (WBD) on Monday announced plans to separate into two publicly traded companies, splitting its streaming and studios business from its TV networks operations by mid-2025.
The move comes just over a month after the company reported March quarter earnings that missed estimates, with studio revenue down 18% year-on-year.
According to the announcement, WBD will form two entities: Streaming & Studios and Global Networks. The Streaming & Studios unit will include Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, DC Studios, HBO, HBO Max, and their vast film and television libraries. Global Networks will house its entertainment, sports, and news TV brands worldwide—including CNN, TNT Sports in the US, Discovery, top free-to-air channels across Europe, and digital platforms such as the profitable Discovery+ and Bleacher Report (B/R).
David Zaslav, current President and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, will become President and CEO of Streaming & Studios. Gunnar Wiedenfels, currently CFO, will lead Global Networks as President and CEO. Both executives will retain their existing roles until the split is complete.
The company also announced plans to raise a $17.5 billion bridge loan, which it expects to refinance before the separation.
Earlier this year, Warner Bros. completed an internal restructuring to align its operations with the consumer shift away from traditional pay-TV toward digital platforms.
Declining Earnings
Warner Bros. Discovery’s total revenue fell 10% to $8.98 billion between January and March 2025, missing analysts’ expectations, according to Reuters. The company posted a loss of 18 cents per share—wider than the expected 13 cents.
WBD did add 5.3 million streaming subscribers in the quarter, bringing its total to 122.3 million. Major titles during the period included The White Lotus Season 3 and the medical drama The Pitt.
However, this growth was offset by a weak box office showing. The studio struggled to replicate the success of Dune: Part Two, which grossed over $700 million. Its key release, Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17, reportedly earned just slightly above its production budget.
Studio revenue fell 18% to $2.31 billion, well below the $2.73 billion estimate. TV network revenue—including CNN, Discovery Channel, and Animal Planet—also declined 7%.
