What to Do with WBD's Networks?

 If you've followed Thoughtnami over the past 20 years, thank you for your patronage and your support. It's so great to be back writing posts like this after all of these years. It feels more natural and less constrictive than tweets and occasional posts across social media.

You also know that when it comes to one particularly Hollywood media company, I have a love-hate relationship with them. And that studio has had many names during the course of those two decades.

AOL Time Warner. 

Time Warner.

WarnerMedia.

Warner Bros Discovery.

And they've all been called "the most poorly run media company" by me throughout those two decades.

Now, granted, I may be a little hyperbolic with that statement. They're really not the most poorly run media company (looking at you both, Paramount Global and Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment), but considering the two years the current management team of David Zaslav (President and CEO), Gunnar Wiedenfels (Chief Financial Officer), and Bruce Campbell (Chief Revenue and Strategy Officer), all given marching orders by cable kingpin and conservative donor John Malone, who is the company's largest shareholder and a Discovery-loyal member of the WBD Board of Directors, to pretty much ransack the company much to the dismay of other investors.

For the most part, they've been quite successful in ruining Warner Bros reputation throughout the entertainment industry that no longer trusts them and Wall Street who are so confused about why nothing has been done about the mismanagement at the top. 

And one of their most recent big-brained ideas was to split the company in half. Or at least, it was, until someone at WBD looked at them and said "Are you out of your flipping minds? The lawsuits from the investors would be problematic!" So, that plan went up in smoke for the moment and they gave up that scheme and thought of another scheme. 

Totally devalue the worth of the linear cable networks by nearly $10 billion after losing the NBA rights to NBC Universal and Amazon (and really looking stupid after the league shut them down for trying to carve out a deal not exactly matching Amazon's offer [mostly because they tried to sneak it onto TNT, which was NOT part of the Amazon deal]). Oh, and they shut down the Cartoon Network website redirecting it to MAX, promising them that CN shows would be there (a lot of them aren't, mind you). 

Once again, the ineptitude of Zaslav, Wiedenfels, and Campbell continues to destroy Warner Bros Discovery. Maybe the nearly 4000 employees who were laid off since the two companies merged should have included this trio. 

Firing the terrible triad and removing John Malone from the Board of Directors are essential for the future of Warner Bros. This quartet have done irreparable damage to the legacy and value of this company, and there's no need for them to continue destroying it with their inactions and needless cost-cutting endeavors that do nothing to add value to WBD and only lines their pockets in the end. 

What could be done? Well, let's figure out what to do with the unit that's apparently the most problematic according to Wall Street, the linear television unit.

Of course, they're only looking at the DOMESTIC linear television unit of the company. The INTERNATIONAL channels are doing fine as are most units. Owning the international version of brands they'd spin off is moronic, which is probably another reason they're not doing that. So, here's what I'd do with the domestic networks that still have value on-air and as brands:

• Separate the reality/non-scripted channels from the entertainment channels. Discovery Channel, TLC, Food Network, Investigation Discovery, HGTV, and Magnolia Network are fine networks, but in an age where linear television isn't as prominent as it once was, maybe they're not fully worth the investment and the energies anymore. The shows and franchises themselves are more valuable than those networks, so, maybe it would be more appropriate to keep them from general entertainment. Different concentrations deserve different attention, and maybe the non-scripted side of the company should be its own separate unit. feel this way is that the WB TV FAST endeavor has proven that they don't necessarily need to keep the Discovery channels. That said, the entertainment channels require more upkeep than the non-scripted channels, especially TCM and Cartoon Network. Speaking of those two... 
• Put Turner Classic Movies under HBO's management This should be a no-brainer and makes more sense than having the reality-based Magnolia Network in the HBO group. Turner Classic Movies is THE premiere classic film network as well the cultural heart of the Hollywood industry. When Malone's Terrible Triad tried to completely dismantle TCM by getting rid of a lot of talented folks who knew how to program and operate it, several of Hollywood's biggest titans went directly to Zaslav and told him to knock it off. As a result, TCM became under the supervision of the heads of Warner Bros Pictures but still a part of the maligned US networks division. My suggestion? Turn TCM into an HBO brand. Don't rename it "HBO Classic Films" but keep the TCM brand name. If HBO is the home of new hits and modern classics, make TCM the premium home for true classics and the history it created. Present it as a network that celebrates what Hollywood once was as well as the creators and stars who helped cement that image for generations of filmgoers and cinephiles alike. Expanding the brand on MAX as well creating themed FAST movie channels with TCM-branded content (and limited ad breaks) would also bring value to the linear channel. 
• Put The Cartoon Network, Inc. under Warner Bros Entertainment's control and management. Cartoon Network needs Warner Bros Animation, and Warner Bros Animation needs Cartoon Network. Reuniting both units under the same corporate umbrella makes more sense than keeping them apart. feel that Boomerang could be a secondary Cartoon Network with older programming mixed with older WBA library shows and shorts. CN should look at what MeTV Toons is doing and emulate that formula for the CN generation of animation fans (from younger millennials to older zenials). Even Discovery Family Channel is undergoing a brand refresh as DFC and slowly embracing animated series from both WB Animation and Cartoon Network Studios. And that channel could do what Acme Night tried to do and bring every member of the family together in primetime. Basically, there is still a place for Cartoon Network, and it would be glorious if the powers-that-be at WBD fully understands that. I know the channel has issues and an identity crisis, but now is the time to understand that Cartoon Network is just as important as TCM and should be treated as such. I feel that the linear channel should be a top priority, and not just because Adult Swim is attached to it. Cartoon Network is the most creative side of WBD, just as much as DC and even more than Warner Bros Pictures, but they need love from the parent company to fully be that. Present the library on-air, on MAX, and across FAST media. I've already talked about how the company should expand into AVOD/FAST media here and here.
• Gradually shrink the linear footprint. HBO (including TCM) and Cartoon Network (including Adult Swim and DFC) are vital to the entertainment side of Warner Bros Discovery and should be fully managed by Warner Bros Entertainment, not WBD US Networks Group. Discovery Channel, TLC, HGTV, and Magnolia are vital to the non-scripted side of WBD. CNN and Investigation Discovery are vital to the news/information side of WBD. TNT, TNT Sports, and TBS are vital to the sports side of the company. Those networks will remain a part of the linear strategy of WBD. The remaining networks are expendable and should gradually shutter their linear channels. Within a seven-year sunset period, most of the other WBD-owned networks should shut down their linear outlets. It's harsh, I know, but with the reality of the current cable industry as well as the growth of streaming and AVOD/FAST outlets, the business model needs to evolve with the times, and this company should be a leader, not be left behind.
• Refocus TNT and TBS as FAST entertainment brands as well as linear units. Okay, this one may seem a bit extreme, but as it is, TBS and TNT are on borrowed time. The TNT brand has become, more or less, a sports brand (TruTV is rebranding its primetime lineup as TNT Sports in the fall a la Adult Swim), while TBS, the original Superstation, has become extremely watered down under the glare of Adult Swim and a secondary thought when it comes to sports. So, maybe it's time to refocus on what these channels could be, and incidentally, they should look at what Hallmark's doing with their networks and fully-embrace library shows and movies all day long. A stretch, I know. While both are outlets for sports, maybe they shouldn't be so focused on them as much as they are. They should lean more into the Warner Bros library. TBS should fully embrace the comedic side of the company while TNT takes on drama. It's nothing strange, but let's take it further. You build up the TNT brand as the dramatic brand and build FAST networks that focus on crime and forensic dramas, action dramas, and mystery/paranormal dramas. On the flipside, TBS could embrace modern comedies, classic sitcoms, and raunchier comedic fare. These should all be the foundations of both channels just as much as (if not more than) sports programming. In a post-NBA world, TNT will need to lean more into library programming and films than TBS would since the latter still has MLB programming for most of the year. If they somehow lose NHL and MLB rights, they will join the other sunset linear channels. 
• Shutter the rest of the networks. The following channels could just close up forever, and no one would really miss them: Science Channel. Animal Planet. HLN. American Heroes Channel, Discovery Life, Cooking Channel, The Travel Channel, Destination America, Motor Trend, and Cinemax. Ten networks. Programming traditionally found on most of those channels are already prominent on WB TV's FAST networks right now, all of which could easily be rebranded with those names (Animal Planet's Paws & Claws, Travel Channel Adventures, Destination America's Real Ghosts & Monsters, Cooking Channel's Sweet Escapes, SCI How To, AHC Untold History, etc.). Heck Motor Trend FAST already exists right now, and if they wanted to, they could resurrect the DIY Network brand for the Extreme Builds and Homes channels. HLN could be used as a FAST format a la NBC News Now with the old Headline News 30-minute format of old. I didn't mention OWN, but without Oprah Winfrey, as it has been in recent years, isn't really worth the investment (most of the non-scripted shows could easily fit on TLC, Food Network, and some of the WB TV FAST channels), and besides, The360 (a broadcast network co-owned by WBD and Lionsgate) is basically doing what OWN did when it comes to scripted entertainment (many of the OWN originals like Queen Sugar aired there) and aimed towards the same urban audience that made the channel prominent and a success. As for Cinemax, MAX's very existence made the linear channel unnecessary. 

I seriously doubt Malone's Terrible Triad would even go forward with a plan like this for the linear networks. But this is a plan that could work under the right management and circumstances. It would strengthen the linear brands that work, expand some brands beyond the linear space, and sunset brands that are taking up resources and space. It's a plan for the beginning of a stronger Warner Bros Discovery.

If you're reading these five or ten years from now, I wonder if this company has a new name, but I fear this company may not even exist. It's probably been swallowed up by a larger company, maybe even some foreign-based media company, or, worse, completely shattered into pieces because of the despicable actions of this regime.

Do you think it was worth it?