After a 35-year partnership, the U.S. National Basketball Association (NBA) is leaving Warner Bros.’ TNT for ESPN, NBC Universal, and Amazon.
The news prompted The Los Angeles Times to wonder: “Can Zaslav save Warner Bros. Discovery,” in its July 28, 2024 edition.
David Zaslav of Discovery acquired Warner Bros. from AT&T two and half years ago, but has not yet been able to revive the Hollywood studios.
According to the Times, “Warner Bros. Discovery’s stock has lost two-thirds of its value since the April 2022 merger, prompting some on Wall Street to call for its breakup. The company, whose revenues dropped four percent to $41billion in 2023, posted a net loss of $966 million the first quarter of this year.” In addition, wrote the Times, “Warner Bros. Discovery this month laid off nearly 1,000 workers, the latest among thousands of job cuts since the merger.”
The Times also pointed out that “Zaslav, 64, has long been among America’s highest- paid executives [his annual compensation reached $49.7 million],” and that “Warner Bros. Discovery spends $20 billion a year on programming, using about 60 percent of the cash it generates on content.” It then concluded: “The company should explore a sale, a merger or asset sales because the current configuration is not working.”
Leave A Comment