HBO and CNN parent company announces major restructuring

Warner Bros Discovery has announced a major restructuring that will split its streaming and studio operations from its traditional cable television networks.

The company said the move aims to give each business division a clearer focus as the media landscape continues to evolve.

The streaming and studios unit will include HBO Max, popular series like Succession, The White Lotus, and The Last of Us, as well as the film division.

This new division will be overseen by David Zaslav, president and chief executive of Warner Bros Discovery.

The second division, named Global Networks, will manage cable brands including CNN, Discovery, and TNT Sports.

This unit will be led by Gunnar Wiedenfels, the company’s chief financial officer.

"We are empowering these iconic brands with the sharper focus and strategic flexibility they need to compete most effectively in today’s evolving media landscape," said Zaslav.

The decision comes two years after the merger that formed Warner Bros Discovery.

While streaming platforms have gained global traction, traditional cable TV has been losing viewers.

CNN, for instance, averaged 558,000 viewers during primetime in the first quarter of the year, a 6% drop compared to the same period in 2024.

In January, the network announced it would cut more than 200 jobs as part of its shift toward digital content.

Meanwhile, the streaming division has shown stronger performance, ending the first quarter with more than 122 million subscribers.

However, the market response to the announcement was lukewarm. Shares of Warner Bros Discovery dropped nearly 3% on Monday and are down more than 10% for the year.

Peter Jankovskis, an analyst at Arbor Financial Services, believes the separation will offer investors a clearer view of each unit’s value.

"When you make the business less complicated, analysts can go in and do a better job of determining what the business is actually worth," he told the BBC.

The strategy follows a similar move by Comcast, which began separating its NBCUniversal cable television division from its streaming brand Peacock last year.

Jankovskis added, "It’s a very competitive market right now, so many firms are trying to segregate out the streaming portion or the content portion of their businesses so that the remaining business can be valued separately."