Warner Bros Discovery ANZ Networks Chief Leaving Amid Newshub Layoffs

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery kept up with TV upfronts week’s biggest trend at their presentation out of The Theater at Madison Square Garden Tuesday: Promoting not just its TV slate as a prime ad-buying opportunity — but also its film franchises. First up from CEO David Zaslav’s team, WB Discovery revenue and strategy chief Bruce Campbell addressed the Madison Avenue crowd following a sizzle featuring top WBD IP and brands across film and TV series.

Warner Bros is filling out the 2025, 2026 calendar and beyond. Today, the Burbank, CA studio announced that New Line Cinema’s Mortal Kombat 2 will hit cinemas on Oct. 24, 2025 in Imax, while Drew Hancock’s Companion will kick off on Jan. 10, 2025, also in Imax.

Anna Marie de la Fuente With more people tuning in to free, ad-supported streaming TV alternatives, Warner Bros. Discovery U.S.

Warner Bros. Discovery has named Buddy Marini as its Japanese GM, reporting to WBD Asia-Pacific president James Gibbons.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Veteran Asian executive Buddy Marini has been appointed GM of Warner Bros. Discovery in Japan.The role covers all operations in Japan including home entertainment, digital & TV licensing, consumer products, anime production, franchise and pay-TV networks, but excluding theatrical and the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo: The Making of Harry Potter business. Marini joins WBD with 25+ years’ experience in leadership across media and technology companies in Japan, China and the U.S.

Jamie Lang The Annecy International Animation Film Festival has become an increasingly important marketing opportunity for major U.S. studios to show off their upcoming animated offerings. This year, Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. has reversed its decision to delist all Adult Swim Games, with several developers reporting that control has been returned to them.Warner Bros. acquired Adult Swim in 2022, but back in March, several developers who had worked on games published through the Adult Swim Games banner reported that they had been told by Warner Bros.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director A 15-year-old “Lord of the Rings” fan film titled “The Hunt for Gollum” is back online and streaming on YouTube after it was temporarily blocked in the aftermath of Warner Bros. revealing its next “Rings” movie has the same title (via Entertainment Weekly). The fan film, which centers on Gandalf tasking Aragorn with hunting down Gollum before the latter can find Frodo and the One Ring, has earned 13 million views since its debut more than a decade ago.

Naman Ramachandran Warner Bros. Discovery has appointed entertainment creative advertising and marketing specialist, Once Upon a Time, and brand consultancy and creative agency, BigSmall, for the European launch of streamer Max.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Netflix used to say its goal was to become HBO faster than HBO could become Netflix. Well, Netflix succeeded on that front. Now Warner Bros.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. will release the first of its new batch of “The Lord of the Rings” films in 2026, which will focus on Andy Serkis’s Gollum. Original “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy filmmaker Peter Jackson and his partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are producing the movie and “will be involved every step of the way” on the movie, Warner Bros.

Max streaming services in the US starting this summer, the companies said in a statement on Wednesday.Customers will be able to sign up on any of the three individual websites and chose from an ad-free or ad-supported plan. No prices were disclosed.Both Disney and Warner Bros are trying to build their streaming businesses as customers ditch traditional cable packages, in part because many of them rejected having to pay for a large bundle with dozens of channels.Butas the number of streaming apps exploded, consumers have complained about having to sign up for multiple subscriptions.The Disney/Warner bundle will simplify payment with one bill, and possibly offer a discount from the cost of subscribing to each app separately.Further details will be announced in the coming weeks, the companies said.Disney+ offers the company’s animated and live-action movies plus film and TV shows from Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery — ordinarily rivals for consumers’ time and money — are teaming up for a triple-play bundle of Disney+, Hulu and Max. The companies announced a new streaming bundle comprising Disney+, Hulu and Max will be available this summer in the U.S.

Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are breaking ground in streaming with a bundled offering featuring Disney+, Hulu and Max in a single package.

Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav largely evaded questions about NBA talks and Paramount Global‘s potential as a WBD merger partner, but he did weigh in on the hot topic of executive pay.

EXCLUSIVE: Ed Adams, who has been with Warner Bros. Animation for 15 years, is retiring.

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Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Classic TV network MeTV is turning its cartoon block into a new network. Owner Weigel Broadcasting Co. announced Wednesday that it will launch MeTV Toons as a new national TV network focused on classic animation, “from Hollywood-era shorts to made-for-television favorites.” MeTV Toons, which launches June 25, is a collab between Weigel and Warner Bros.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Internet-TV provider Fubo dropped all Warner Bros. Discovery networks from its lineup, alleging that the media company was seeking “above-market rates” and refused to license Turner Sports networks separately. In a statement Tuesday, Fubo said it attempted to renew its Discovery content agreement with WBD for networks including Discovery, HGTV, Food Network and TLC.

feature adaptation of “Avengelyne” from Olivia Wilde, Margot Robbie and “X-Men” producer Simon Kinberg is being set up at Warner Bros. The studio is close to finalizing a seven-figure film rights deal. Robbie is eyeing the role of the titular angel who fights the forces of evil and often finds herself face-to-face with demons and monsters.