Do we like them?

Do we like Warner Bros. Discovery?

Film, TV, streaming and news giant (HBO, CNN, Warner Bros., DC), US-based. Bought by Paramount Skydance in Oct 2026.

Our score: 4 out of 10. Famous brands, but a record of layoffs and huge executive payouts, and it is now inside a debt-heavy merger. We'd hold off for now.

WBD was formed in 2022 when Discovery merged with AT&T's WarnerMedia in a $43 billion deal. David Zaslav and the old Discovery management ran the combined company even though AT&T held 71% at the start. It brought together HBO, CNN, Warner Bros. studios and the Discovery cable channels.

A court later signed off on a $125 million settlement for shareholders who said the 2022 deal wasn't fair to them. Most of it was to be paid by the Newhouse family's Advance/Newhouse partnerships, with ex-Discovery chairman Robert Miron and his son covering the rest.

Then came a takeover scrap. Netflix won an auction for the studio and streaming side, but Paramount Skydance's David Ellison came back with $31 a share for the whole company. Netflix declined to match. Paramount paid Netflix a $2.8 billion termination fee, according to an SEC filing.

The deal closed on 6 October 2026, but only after 12 state attorneys general and the Writers Guild sued. Paramount settled. It promised 30 films a year for two years and an editorial board for CNN and CBS. The settlement also set up a $47.5 million workforce fund and kept union contracts in place.

The sore spot is the money at the top. Zaslav's 2025 pay was $165 million, and he is leaving with $606 million. At the June shareholder meeting, a majority voted against golden parachutes for him and other execs. The vote was symbolic. Cartoon Brew says his tenure was defined by layoffs, and more cuts are expected. That's why we land low.