WarnerMedia-Discovery Deal: 5 Things to Know, From Jason Kilar’s Future to Why AT&T Bailed on Hollywood
The shocking coupling of WarnerMedia and Discovery is still reverberating throughout Hollywood Monday morning. The deal brings together two of the biggest content companies, neatly combining Discovery’s unscripted behemoth with WarnerMedia’s legacy assets like Warner Bros. and HBO in a new company with a $130 billion valuation. In the process, the soon-to-be-renamed venture aims to be on the same playing field as Netflix and Disney as the streaming era hits warp speed. The deal, which is expected to close in mid-2022 subject to regulatory approval, will create an entertainment juggernaut that combines Warner Bros., CNN, Turner with Discovery’s stable of nonfiction networks — as well as two competing streaming services, Discovery+ and HBO Max. It also combines WarnerMedia’s U.S. sports rights like the NBA, MLB and March Madness with Discovery international sports giant Eurosport. Below, TheWrap breaks down the five biggest takeaways from this industry-changing deal. AT&T is bailing on the content business It was only three years ago that AT&T (after a two-year fight with Donald Trump’s Justice Department) closed on its $84 billion acquisition of what was then Time Warner. The idea at that time was to use those entertainment assets to build out its phone business. But...
Read original story WarnerMedia-Discovery Deal: 5 Things to Know, From Jason Kilar’s Future to Why AT&T Bailed on Hollywood At TheWrap
