Warner Bros. Files for Divorce From Cable TV… Streaming Gets Full Custody

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) just lived out the ultimate breakup fantasy: it cut ties with its long-term partner (in this case, the NBA) and decided to "find itself." After getting outbid by Disney’s ESPN, Comcast’s NBC, and Amazon for the NBA’s $76 billion TV deal, WBD didn’t have a meltdown or write sad poetry about what could’ve been. Instead, it grabbed some potato chips (and maybe a margarita), split its TV and streaming businesses, and told traditional cable, “It’s not you, it’s… well, actually, it is you.”

At first, losing the NBA seemed like Zaslav had benched his star player in the playoffs. Analysts howled, predicting doom for TNT without live sports to glue eyeballs to ads. But CEO David Zaslav, known for loving attention, had already said they didn’t “have to have the NBA.” And guess what? He wasn’t bluffing.

Instead of shelling out billions to keep dunking highlights alive, WBD focused on its deals with Charter and Comcast, locking in flat rates for TNT and scoring higher fees for channels like CNN and HGTV. And how did they close the deals? By tossing out free Max subscriptions to every living organism on planet earth. The result? Critics were silenced, affiliate fees remained steady, and Zaslav managed to maintain control over WBD’s cash flow without taking unnecessary risks.

This morning, WBD announced it’s formally splitting its cable TV biz from its fast-growing streaming and studio operations by mid-2025. Think of it as a corporate divorce where one partner (streaming) moves to LA to “focus on their career” while the other (cable) stays in the Midwest, bingeing old episodes of Friends and wondering where it all went wrong.

This isn’t just some routine restructuring. It’s WBD laying the groundwork to sell off its cable TV business… or at least shove it out of the nest with a polite “good luck, don’t call us.” If that sounds familiar, it’s because Comcast recently pulled a similar move, spinning off some of its cable assets into a new entity called SpinCo (subtle, right?). Even Paramount Global joined the breakup club by merging with Skydance Media. Traditional TV isn’t dead yet, but everyone’s treating it like a house party the cops are about to bust… quietly sneaking out while pretending everything’s still cool.

Cable TV might have been the biggest revenue generator for decades (back when Elvis debuted on the Ed Sullivan show) but cord-cutting has turned it into a sitting duck. On the flip side, streaming is thriving. Max added a record 7.2 million subscribers last quarter… proof that people will pay for quality content, especially when it’s bundled with their cable subscription. By splitting its businesses, WBD is doubling down on streaming while leaving cable TV to deal with its existential crisis (midlife red Corvette not included).

Investors seem into this plan. WBD’s stock has jumped 58% since September, while Comcast shares tanked 8.32% after announcing subscriber losses. Of course, WBD’s plan isn’t foolproof. Skipping out on live sports could mean fewer eyeballs on ads, and tossing out free Max subscriptions like Halloween candy isn’t exactly a sustainable revenue model. But if Zaslav can stick the landing, WBD might just emerge as a lean, mean streaming machine… ready to compete with the big players and shed some of that debt weight.

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