LEAD STORY
The Chill Running Through Warner Bros. Discovery
When Discovery completed its takeover of WarnerMedia in April of this year to form the new Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) conglomerate, there was a cold chill that penetrated through its many divisions, especially the ones that belonged to the old WarnerMedia.
Led by David Zaslav and his chief financial officer Gunnar Wiedenfelds the new regime was laden with more than $50 billion in debt, and Zaslav was looking to eliminate $3 billion through cost-cutting measures.
Painful days were forecasted, as a lot of metaphorical fat would be shed as a new lean WBD started to take shape.
The former Turner Broadcasting networks, including CNN and Turner Sports, and premium channel HBO, were accustomed to hearty budgets. They could spend on almost anything as they operated in some form of autonomy from their parent network, AT&T.
Those days are long gone, and the new reality is that WBD, led by a majority of Discovery executives, will be very stringent with how it doles out its cash.
This past week the company released its third-quarter earnings, and the results were not good. It reported a net loss of $2.3 billion, its debt load fell from $53 billion to $50.4 billion, and its advertising revenue dropped to $2 billion.
Those results, alongside its tanking stock value, mean WBD needs to be aggressive on several fronts to turn the tide.
During the call, WBD revealed that it added 2.5 million subscribers between HBO Max and Discovery Plus during the third quarter to stand at 94.9 million subscribers. It is bringing up the launch of its combined streaming service from the summer of 2023 to the spring of 2023.
It’s launching a FAST (Free Ad-supported Streaming TV) service to compete with Paramount Global's PlutoTV and Fox's Tubi.
More cuts. Zaslav and Gunnar have asked CNN's Chris Licht to cut $100 million from CNN's budget, which translates to almost 10% of CNN's total budget. This means more layoffs and more programming cuts. Who and what goes and remains will be very telling once the dust settles.
The two executives believe they are on the right path and making the correct decisions regarding their WBD properties. Zaslav has said that streaming will generate $1 billion in EBITDA by 2025.
Still, he has revised his cost-cutting goal increasing it by .5 billion to 3.5 billion, which means that the cold feeling many employees are feeling will likely linger for a little bit longer.
(NextTV, Adweek, The Streamable, Puck$$$)
RECAP
Shepard Smith Is Out At CNBC
Two years after joining CNBC, Shepard Smith’s nightly news show is no more. CNBC president KC Sullivan announced that The News with Shepard Smith would be canceled as the network refocuses on its business and market coverage. The final episode aired on Wednesday, November 2, but Smith will remain with the network until the end of the month. In its place will be an additional hour of live market coverage until a new live business show is launched in 2023. The move to cancel Smith’s show, which was a top performer at CNBC, is seen as a play by Sullivan to properly define’s CNBC brand — one that specifically targets business. Smith is the latest high-profile former Fox News anchor to move to the NBCUniversal News Group and not see success joining Greta Van Susteren and Megyn Kelly. (CNBC & Variety)
Tiffany Cross’ Show Unexpectedly Axed By MSNBC
MSNBC on Friday made a shocking move when it suddenly dropped its weekend host Tiffany Cross. Cross, whose show Cross Connection aired on Saturday morning, was MSNBC's highest-rated weekend program and was a strong draw for Black viewers, especially Black females. It’s been reported that MSNBC's management was not pleased with Cross’ political commentary outside of the network, with executives feeling that they did not meet the standards that were set by MSNBC or NBC News. Cross released a statement saying she was disheartened by her show's cancelation, considering it happened right before the midterm elections. MSNBC anchor Joy Reid, meanwhile, shouted out Cross at the end of her Friday show, saying, “She is not just my friend. She is my sister. I love her. I support her.” (Variety & Deadline)
Paramount Plus Grows To 46 Million Subscribers
Paramount Plus is chugging along nicely, adding another 4.6 million subscribers in the third quarter to now stand at 46 million. The Paramount Global streaming service credited the growth to its strong content slate led by the return of the NFL, the UEFA Champions League, films like Orphan: First Kill and Beavis and Butt-Head Do The Universe, and series like Seal Team and 1883. The company’s partnership with Walmart also contributed to Paramount Plus’ growth. Despite the positive growth, it was still lower than what they added in the second quarter by .3 million subscribers. By the end of September, Paramount Global reached nearly 67 million subscribers across its various streaming platforms. (Adweek and The Hollywood Reporter)
QUICK RECAP
Ginger Gibson was named NBC News Digital's senior Washington editor. (TVNewser)
Juan Carlos Osorio, Mexico’s former national team coach, joins ESPN for its World Cup coverage. (ESPN Press Room)
Matthew Wells was named executive editor for the EMEA region for CNN Digital Worldwide. (CNN Press Room)
Hugo Rojo was named executive director of communications for CBS News in Washington, DC. (CBS News PR/Twitter)
Former CNN head Jeff Zucker to join private equity firm. (Axios)
Rick Cordella was named president, programming for NBC Sports and Peacock Sports. (NBC Sports Group Press Box)
Herm Edwards returns to ESPN as NFL and CFB analyst. (ESPN Press Room)
Bloomberg Technology anchor Emily Chang to depart from Bloomberg TV on Thursday. (TVNewser)
ESPN’s Jimmy Pitaro talks about a possible Draft Kings deal. (Axios)
CNN PR execs Barbara Levin and Lauren Pratapas are let go from the network. (TVNewser)
2022 Midterm Elections: CNN's coverage plans. (CNN Press Room)
2022 Midterm Elections: PBS’ coverage plans. (TVNewser)
2022 Midterm Elections: Fox News’ coverage plans. (TVNewser)
2022 Midterm Elections: ABC News’ coverage plans. (ABC News Public Relations)
2022 Midterm Elections: Scripps News’ coverage plans. (TVNewser)
2022 Midterm Elections: Bloomberg's coverage plans. (TVNewser)
2022 Midterm Elections: Networks prepare to cover a very consequential election. (DigiDay)
2022 Midterm Elections: How the networks are promoting their coverage. (NewscastStudio)
2022 Midterm Elections: How the news media covered the Latino electorate during this news cycle. (Aldia News)
Netflix Ad Tier launches: What to expect now that it’s available. (Adweek)
Netflix's Ad Tier: Talks continue with Hollywood studios over the content. (The Wall Street Journal)
Feature: Kaitlan Collins on her fast rise at CNN. (The Washington Post)
James Brown delivers a moving monologue on hate and antisemitism on CBS Sports’ NFL Today. (Awful Announcing)
CNN This Morning makes its debut. (TVNewser)
After 75 years, Meet The Press is still a valuable franchise for NBC News. (NBC News)
Apple is building an advertising network as it sets to stream MLS. (Bloomberg)
Content creators are upset Netflix is adding ads during shows. (CNBC)
The documentary that Kyrie Irving boosted was available on Amazon's Prime Video. (Wall Street Journal)
Jim Scuitto is back on the air at CNN after a month-long absence. (TVNewser)
CNN's CFO Neil Chugani is out after five months on the job. (Dylan Byers/Twitter)
The UEFA Champions League group stage was Paramount Plus’ most streamed group stage ever. (Paramount Press Express)
NBC News’ Nightly News with Lester Holt is back in its old studio. (NewscastStudio)
CNN's Jake Tapper to return to his old 4 pm slot after the midterms. (Semafor)
The Big 12 deal with Fox Sports and ESPN is complete. (Sports Business Journal)
Fox Sports gives a first look at its 2022 World Cup studios in Qatar. (Fox Sports)
A look at CNN's new temporary studio for CNN This Morning. (NewscastStudio)
Women’s Sports Network is now available as a FAST channel. (Sports Business Journal)
Amazon's Prime Video signs three-year deal with basketball league Overtime Elite. (Sports Business Journal)
WWE announces a streaming deal with Africa’s Multichoice. (Awful Announcing)
Squid Games is set to become Netflix's most lucrative title. (Axios)
Fox Business’ Larry Ludlow is using his show to promote MAGA Think Tank. (The Daily Beast)
Peacock signs deal with Hallmark Media for a branded streaming hub on the platform. (Variety)
CNN's Jake Tapper makes a cameo on ABC's The Rookie. (Forbes)
A look at Fox Sports’ made-over NFL studio. (NewscastStudio)
Amazon Prime Video to have sports talk shows. (New York Post)
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A MarkHenry Media LLC publication - Issue #105 - 2022