Warner Bros. Discovery signals rapid deterioration of television business, sending stock plummeting | CNN Business (2024)

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Business / Media

Analysis by Oliver Darcy, CNN

3 minute read

Published 8:24 AM EDT, Thu August 8, 2024

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Warner Bros. Discovery signals rapid deterioration of television business, sending stock plummeting | CNN Business (2)

David Zaslav speaks onstage during The New York Times Dealbook Summit 2023 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 29 in New York City.

New York CNN

David Zaslavhad a particularly tough day.

TheWarner Bros. Discoveryboss watched Wednesday afternoon as his company’s already anemic stock price plummeted more than 10% in after-hours trading, hitting a dangerous new low of $6.90 after the company reported second quarter earnings.

The selloff occurred after WBD posted a$9.1 billion write downon its troubled network assets. It’s a reflection of how quickly the traditional television business is deteriorating and imperiling companies such as WBD, which rely on linear channels for the bulk of their revenue. WBD owns some of the most recognizable cable channels, includingCNN,HGTV,TNT, andTBS— all of which have seen worrisome audience decays as cord-cutting slices overall viewership and household reach.

For WBD, the rapid decline of the legacy business has been compounded in recent weeks by its very public breakup-turned-legal battle with theNBA —its partner of four decades — after the media giant attempted to use its matching rights to snagAmazon’snewly acquired $1.8 billion per year package of games.

Jun 12, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; NBA TV analyst Charles Barkley talks on set before game three of the 2024 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Kevin Jairaj/USA Today Sports/Reuters Related article Charles Barkley cancels his retirement plans, says he’ll stay with TNT Sports for long term

The one bright spot in the legacy television business has been live sports programming, which continues to draw high viewership even as cable cancelations mount. WBD, which is now suing the NBA over its divorce, acknowledged on Wednesday that the potential loss of games starting with the 2025-26 season will have a financial impact on the company.

“The goodwill impairment was triggered in response to the difference between market capitalization and book value, continued softness in the U.S. linear advertising market, and uncertainty related to affiliate and sports rights renewals, including the NBA,” WBD said in its financial summary.

To be fair, WBD is not the only once-high flying legacy media behemoth struggling to find its footing in a shifting landscape upended by theNetflixrevolution.Paramount Global, a one-time titan, has stumbled and found enormous difficulty reorienting its business around streaming. TheShari Redstone-led company, which struck a merger deal last month withDavid Ellison’s Skydance, has lost 27% of its value this year.

Speaking candidly to investors on the company’s earnings call Wednesday, Zaslav acknowledged the dire reality of the television business.

“It’s fair to say that even two years ago, market valuations and prevailing conditions for legacy media companies were quite different than they are today,” Zaslav said. “And this impairment acknowledges this.”

People walk in front of Cinderella's Castle at the Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World on May 31, 2024, in Orlando, Florida. Gary Hershorn/Corbis News/Getty Images Related article Disney may have a parks problem

Zaslav did talk up other parts of the WBD business, describing the company’sMaxstreaming platform as “doing very, very well” with “tremendous upside.” But even as he offered the warm sentiment, Zaslav conceded the cold reality of “tough conditions in the legacy business.”

The hole WBD now finds itself in has led to enormous chatter that the company will be forced to sell off some of its assets. During Wednesday’s earnings call, chief financial officerGunnar Wiedenfelssaid management is “very well aware” of its “responsibility to have a view on whatever strategic options are out there.”

“We’re very clearly focused on evaluating beyond just running the operational business,” Wiedenfels said. “So we’ve said before, you shouldn’t be surprised to see us engaging in whatever M&A processes are going on out there. You shouldn’t be surprised to see us engaging in partnership discussions.”

That said, WBD has shown a reluctance to sell any of its major assets. And whether it can get out of the corner it finds itself in without taking such a step may prove to be difficult.

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Warner Bros. Discovery signals rapid deterioration of television business, sending stock plummeting | CNN Business (2024)

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