Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) today announced the new name of the proposed standalone global entertainment company that will emerge from the combination of WarnerMedia and Discovery assets: “Warner Bros. Discovery.” The Warner Bros. Discovery name will honor, celebrate and elevate the world’s most-storied creative studio in the world with the high-quality, global nonfiction storytelling heritage of Discovery.
David Zaslav, President and CEO of Discovery and the future CEO of the proposed Warner Bros. Discovery combined company, unveiled the new name to WarnerMedia employees from the Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank, CA, where he said:
“Warner Bros. Discovery will aspire to be the most innovative, exciting and fun place to tell stories in the world – that is what the company will be about. We love the new company’s name because it represents the combination of Warner Bros.’ fabled hundred year legacy of creative, authentic storytelling and taking bold risks to bring the most amazing stories to life, with Discovery’s global brand that has always stood brightly for integrity, innovation, and inspiration. There are so many wonderful, creative and journalistic cultures that will make up the Warner Bros. Discovery family. We believe it will be the best and most exciting place in the world to tell big, important, and impactful stories across any genre – and across any platform: film, television, and streaming.”
The initial wordmark for the proposed company includes the iconic line from the Maltese Falcon, “the stuff that dreams are made of,” an additional homage to the rich legacy of Warner Bros. and the focus of what the proposed company will be about.
In May, AT&T and Discovery reached a definitive agreement to combine WarnerMedia’s premium entertainment, sports, and news assets with Discovery’s leading nonfiction and international entertainment and sports businesses to create a single company.
Warner Bros. Discovery will bring together the strongest leadership teams, content creators, and high-quality series and film libraries in the media business, while accelerating both companies’ plans for leading direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming services for global consumers. The new company will unite complementary and diverse content strengths with broad appeal – WarnerMedia’s robust studios and portfolio of iconic scripted entertainment, animation, news, and sports with Discovery’s global leadership in unscripted and international entertainment and sports.
The “pure-play” content company will own one of the deepest libraries in the world with nearly 200,000 hours of iconic programming and will bring together over 100 of the most cherished, popular, and trusted brands in the world under one global portfolio, including: HBO, Warner Bros., Discovery, DC, CNN, WB Games, Turner Sports, Cartoon Network, HGTV, Food Network, TNT, TBS, Turner Classic Movies, Wizarding World, Adult Swim, Eurosport, Magnolia, TLC, Animal Planet, ID and many more.
More information on the agreement between AT&T and Discovery can be found in the initial press release here. A webcast of the May 17 virtual press conference with John Stankey and David Zaslav is available on AT&T’s and Discovery’s Investor Relations websites at https://investors.att.com/ and https://ir.corporate.discovery.com/investor-relations.
Editor’s Note:
Look, all this business talk is a big snooze to me, but what is entertaining is the new TV spot for “Shark Week.”
