Let’s call it what it is: Warner Bros. Discovery is finally acknowledging that its cable business is dead weight—and instead of dragging it up the streaming mountain, they’re about to cut the rope. The layoffs this week? Just phase one of what’s shaping up to be a full-on asset divorce.
We’re talking dozens of jobs axed from the linear networks division, conveniently timed just days after Disney’s own surgical strike on its mid-level ranks. Of course, WBD says this is about “efficiency.” Translation: linear TV is hemorrhaging cash, and the only thing they’ve figured out how to do is downsize. Again.
But this isn’t just belt-tightening. It’s foreplay for the inevitable: spinning off the Turner networks, HGTV, Food Network, and whatever’s left of the old Discovery ecosystem into their own little island of misfit toys. Comcast’s already blueprinting this play with Versant. WBD’s just waiting for the right quarter to pretend it was their idea all along.
You don’t need to decode tea leaves to see where this is headed. Last year’s $9.1 billion write-down on TV network valuations? That was a farewell card in financial form. The recent corporate reorg into “Streaming & Studios” and “Global Linear Networks”? A dress rehearsal for the breakup. And then there’s the cherry on top: S&P just downgraded WBD’s credit rating to junk. Not “under review.” Not “watchlist.” Full-on junk. Wall Street doesn’t just think the linear business is dying—it’s already writing the eulogy.
Meanwhile, Lord Zas—sorry, David Zaslav—is racking up nearly $52 million in compensation for piloting the Titanic into the iceberg. Investors just gave his pay package the finger, with almost 60% voting no on his raise. Sure, it’s a non-binding vote. But when your shareholders would rather light your paycheck on fire than sign it, maybe it’s time for a little reflection.
Instead, Zaslav’s compensation is being justified with math so creative it should win a WGA Award. His cash bonus wasn’t tied to actual profit, but to “adjusted EBITDA” and “strategic goals” like cost-cutting. And what do you know—he nailed those! Mainly by firing people and shelving content. Bravo?
And let’s not forget Chief Slash Officer Gunnar Wiedenfels, who continues to wield the ax with surgical glee. You’ve got to love a CFO whose entire brand is subtraction. Budgets, teams, shows—he slashes them all with the enthusiasm of a kid in a hedge maze. Strategic vision? Try “delete and hope for the best.”
Now we’re watching Max morph back into HBO Max—yes, the same name they dumped two years ago for being “too narrow.” This isn’t rebranding. It’s corporate Groundhog Day. If HBO is the crown jewel, maybe stop treating it like a clearance item at a liquidation sale.
What’s next? Probably a formal announcement that the linear business is getting spun off, sold off, or left in a box on Discovery’s old doorstep. And that’s fine. Let the legacy channels become someone else’s nostalgia problem. The real issue is whether the streaming side has the backbone—or the clarity—to lead.
Because if Zaslav’s playbook is just “slash, rename, repeat,” don’t expect WBD to climb out of junk status anytime soon. HBO Max may be back in name, but the real comeback needs more than brand whiplash and PowerPoint promises.
Already seeing the signs? You’re not alone. I called this, and laid out exactly how the company was staging this breakup behind the scenes. Spoiler alert: we’re well past speculation—this is execution.
