EXCLUSIVE: Discovery+ is entering the world of teenage drag shows with Tyra Banks.
08.04.2022 - 19:25 / deadline.com
AT&T CEO John Stankey, who decided last spring to spin off WarnerMedia into a $43 billion merged entity with Discovery, has sent a bouquet to WarnerMedia staff as the deal gets set to close.
In a memo to staff (read it in full below), Stankey praised the “remarkable body of work” accrued by WarnerMedia in the nearly three years of AT&T’s ownership.
AT&T last year also spun off pay-TV operator DirecTV into a new entity 30%-owned by private equity firm TPG.
Here’s the full memo:
To my WarnerMedia Colleagues,
As we work to finalize the combination of WarnerMedia and Discovery and launch Warner Bros. Discovery, I wanted to share a few thoughts with you.
In July of 2018, I wrote to you:
We have a unique opportunity to truly lead in the transformation that’s taking place across media and entertainment, direct-to-consumer distribution, and technology. We are at a rare inflection point where the direction and structure of content and distribution – which are central to how almost everyone on the planet relates to society and those around them – gets shaped for future decades.
Today, we can clearly see that you have created a remarkable body of work rising to the moment I highlighted nearly four years ago. No doubt it remains a work in progress, but your accomplishments have been outstanding. The results and trajectory are clear. Three storied and proud entities have made difficult choices and decisions to collaborate and work together in ways that were not the norm four short years ago. While doing all the important work of managing businesses in transition, you brought the best that each entity had to offer to form something new — something that creatives want to be a part of and consumers have embraced the world over. You established
EXCLUSIVE: Discovery+ is entering the world of teenage drag shows with Tyra Banks.
Throughout the years, Made In Chelsea has turned its cast members into famous faces. Away from their extravagant shopping sprees along King’s Road, former cast members have gone on to establish successful businesses, try their hand at ballroom dancing and team up with some incredible brands. But who’s the wealthiest of them all? The team at We Thrift have put together a nifty list, so let’s take a peek… Ollie Locke-Locke - £7.6milion After making his on screen debut during the first series of Made In Chelsea back in 2001, Ollie is one of the show’s most famous faces.
AT&T CEO John Stankey said managing passwords is a key to long-term sustainability in the streaming business and something he and his team had in mind well before HBO Max launched. He made the comments on a call with analysts following AT&T’s latest earnings and two days after Netflix revealed that 100 million viewers use its service for free by sharing passwords.
EXCLUSIVE: Discovery+ revealed its Earth Day programming slate to be featured from April 15-24. Included as part of the line-up is content that celebrates the exploration and conservation of our planet and the inspiring people, places, and wildlife that depend on it to survive.
EXCLUSIVE: Ryan Reynolds will narrate the Discovery+ documentary Curb Your Carbon which uncovers the 10 simple and effective things we can do right now to help fight climate change.
Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav and other top execs are meeting with employees in a town hall this morning on the Warner lot in Burbank. It’s the first large-scale staff meeting since last Friday’s close of the $43 billion merger.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav brought out the big guns during his address to the new company at its first global town hall for employees Thursday.The newly merged company brought out its most famous employee, Oprah Winfrey, to moderate the event and to help introduce Zaslav to Hollywood.Winfrey is a longtime supporter of the media mogul, who has championed the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) — a cable channel jointly jointed by Warner Bros. Discovery and Harpo Studio — alongside her since its launch in 2011.
according to CNN.Discovery stakeholders had approved the deal in mid-March.The merger will place AT&T’s Warner Bros., CNN, Turner and Discovery’s stable of nonfiction networks squarely under one roof — as well as two currently competing streaming services, Discovery+ and HBO Max, possibly giving the combined entity a fighting chance of moving into competition with Netflix and Disney+ among the leading streaming services.The deal also combines WarnerMedia’s U.S. sports rights like the NBA, MLB and March Madness with Discovery international sports giant Eurosport.
stepped down this week], and the entire WarnerMedia leadership, for leading this remarkable evolution through some of the most unprecedented times …. I am delighted to observe the progress and success you have enjoyed, and I am confident you will transition to this next chapter with even more opportunity. I offer my heartfelt thanks.”AT&T battled stiff regulatory resistance to acquire Time Warner in 2018, only to spin it off in a $43 billion deal with Discovery, whose shareholders approved the merger last month.
Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaAs Discovery closes its deal for WarnerMedia, John Stankey, the AT&T chief who oversaw the telecom company’s abandoned foray into the media world, bid farewell to his soon-to-be former colleagues. Stankey led AT&T’s acquisition of DirecTV and Time Warner in 2015 and 2018, before replacing Randall Stephenson as CEO role of AT&T in July 2020.“My respect and appreciation for those I have worked closely with is enduring, and I will miss continuing to learn and problem solve with you,” Stankey wrote.
Juan Mata has offers to play in the MLS when his Manchester United contract expires in the summer.
For decades, WarnerMedia and Discovery had largely co-existed independently. They have lived in separate universes with virtually no business interactions, as unscripted television is their main area of overlap. The Discovery networks work primarily with independent producers and not studios like Warner Bros TV, which has only produced one reality show for a Discovery net via its Shed subsidiary
The hello tour for the Discovery and WarnerMedia merger is set to begin as early as Monday, Deadline hears, with multiple meet and greets planned across the country that will culminate with a town hall later in the week.
WarnerMedia studios and networks group chairman and CEO Ann Sarnoff is exiting her post, sources tell Variety.Sarnoff was informed by leadership on Tuesday that her position would be eliminated, one insider said. The ground is shifting rapidly for executives and other divisions at the media giant as it nears completion of its merger with Discovery.“I want to thank Ann for all of her leadership during a transformational period for the company and our industry. She has been a passionate and committed steward of the world’s most formidable creative engine and has led with integrity, focus and hard work in bringing WarnerMedia’s businesses, brands and workforce closer together,” said David Zaslav, the incoming CEO of the merged Warner Bros.
Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterAs Discovery and WarnerMedia leaders go full throttle on final merger preparation for the anticipated April 8 closing date, the industry is eager to learn how Warner Bros., HBO and the former Turner cable networks will exist alongside Discovery’s large portfolio of global channels and content operations.The formal tying-of-the-knot can’t come soon enough for executives, staff, creatives and talent at both companies, who also are still largely in the dark about potential structural changes, management shifts and strategic pivots.On Tuesday morning, WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar announced that he would be stepping down ahead of the merger. Besides that, there’s a rudimentary “initial wordmark” logo for Warner Bros.
Jason Kilar, the former Hulu and Amazon exec who has led WarnerMedia as CEO since May 2020, has formalized plans to exit the company on the eve of its merger with Discovery.