We're Going to Have to Talk About the Rumored Split

After the company re-rebranded its premium streaming service to HBO Max, which nearly everybody under the sun never stopped referring to it, you have to ask yourself one question:

What's really going on at Warner Bros Discovery?

WBD seems to be embracing the scripted and sports sides of the company more these days, and you can tell that the Discovery brands are feeling more like an afterthought.

Oh, don't look at me like that, cartoon fan. 

Consider the following:

• There's a refocused emphasis on scripted programming at Warner Bros Television. Not that WBTV had any problems when it comes to scripted programming, the studio continues to have hits across many platforms, including Netflix, Apple TV+, and at least one series on every major US broadcast network. Ever since Discovery acolyte Katherine Finch resigned at the end of 2024, Channing Dungey, the head of Warner Bros Television, took the helm of the US Networks group, which seems to begin bearing fruit for the scripted side of the company as opposed to the factual side that Finch largely favored.  
• Despite losing the NBA, TNT Sports is actually increasing and expanding its sports programming library. Losing the NBA game rights has given WBD a black eye, bruised ribs, a broken arm, and a chipped front tooth. WBD looked even more foolish after suing the NBA for not seriously taking their unserious bid for the package given to Amazon Prime. Though they deserved nothing, the two sides settled the case, and WBD got a hell of a lot of concessions from the NBA and ESPN. Not only will TNT's Inside the NBA continue intact on ESPN (a rare production on the channel produced by a third-party company), but WBD will also have a contract for NBA programming domestically and internationally, the latter of which includes live sports in certain global markets. In addition, TNT Sports is expanding its programming across many platforms with collegiate sports, MLB baseball, NHL hockey, NASCAR racing, soccer, and others. 
• The TCM brand is actually growing in importance at HBO Max. While a full integration of TCM into HBO's infrastructure remains a pipedream (heaven knows I got quite a lecture about that a few nights ago), the TCM hub on HBO Max has been expanding and growing since the beginning of 2025. While it's not a 1:1 ratio with the programming on the linear channel, the curation for classic films on HBO Max has become more significant under the TCM aegis, which is much more of a testament to the long-standing strength of the 30+ year-old brand. 
• Warner Bros Animation is a vital global part of the WBD empire. Animation fans have been... in a mood when it comes to this damn company. It's been maddening, and unfound rumors aren't creating peace with those fans. Heaven knows I tried my damnedest to calm some minds. But I do feel that there is a place for animation at WBD. The studio's going all-in at Annecy in June, which has become a showcase of not only the new stuff they're pitching but also the legacy of what this company represents. It's been a long road get from there to here, but I think when it comes to a true resurgence of animation at this studio, their time is finally near. I've got faith.

Non-scripted programming is still a factor at WBD, but it's not really the Discovery brands that are bringing them in. Mostly, it's The Bachelor franchise that's still bringing in audiences on ABC. Sure, you saw an emphasis on them at the upfronts, but that's because the company is pitching for potential advertisers, and they're not really buying what they're pitching. 

Even the trailer for the HBO Max re-rebranding barely had Discovery programming on it. Only 90 Day Fiancé was present. Not that this is a harbinger of anything. Just noticeable.

The Discovery channels are on a deeper decline than the other WBD channels, but you don't really hear too much about that from the Hollywood media rags. Discovery+, once considered a highlight of WBD's streaming strategy, has become a barren wasteland of endless reruns while originals that could have easily premiered there have migrated to HBO Max. That's what the subscribers get for not going to HBO Max, I guess. Speaking of Discovery+...

We're going to have to talk about the rumored split.

When the moronic idea of a split between the networks and the studio comes up, the thought process originally was that WBD was going to split ALL of the US channels from the studios. The re-rebranding of Max to HBO Max makes me think that if there is a split (and I really don't think it's happening), they're going to spin off just the Discovery channels. 

Heck, Zaslav has been spending more time in Jack Warner's old digs and playing the role of movie mogul. He's more of a studio guy than the Discovery guy these days. He sees the limited potential of those Discovery networks compared to the others. 

As the WB TV FAST channels have proven, they don't really need traditional linear channels for those lifestyle and nature shows, especially if they already own the shows themselves. 

Internationally, the draw of those Discovery channels is waning, largely thanks to Discovery+ in those markets. Even THAT service is overshadowed by TNT Sports, which will likely migrate over to HBO Max internationally as well.   

Using the Versant template that the Hollywood rags are trying to put on this rumored split, it's not going to be as cut and dry as they feel it is.

They're not going to just split off ALL of the networks. From a global and programming perspective, that's asinine. Most of the most valuable brands are global. HBO, CNN, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim... heck, TNT Sports is the umbrella brand for the company's global sports empire.

Oh, I might have lost some of you when I said, "the Versant template." 

Versant, not to be confused with the vision health company, the science company, or the Northeastern US power company of the same name (seriously, Comcast should have done their homework), is the name of NBC Universal's upcoming (at the time of this writing, May 2025) spinoff company that will house most of its linear cable brands, with the exception of Bravo, and a few "non-essential" units like NBCU's interests in Fandango.

What remains of NBC Universal will be, at least in Comcast's eyes, a stronger, more streamlined company. If Warner Bros Discovery wanted to adapt that strategy, you have to figure out what would be their equivalents to the bands NBCU are keeping. 

Let me try to break it down:

• The Universal equivalent is, of course, Warner Bros. This includes all of the film and television studios in the group as well as DC Comics and the video game division. Yes, panicked cartoon fan, this also includes Warner Bros Animation and Cartoon Network Studios.
• The NBC equivalent is HBO. And just like Peacock is the more premium streaming side of NBC, HBO Max does likewise for the HBO brand. 
• The NBC News equivalent is CNN. No, CNN is not the equivalent of MSNBC or CNN in WBD's eyes since CNN is their main news and information division, much like NBC News. Oddly, of all the Discovery channels, I think the one that would likely be spared from a potential spinoff in this scenario would be the one that feels analogous to CNN, the true crime news-focused Investigation Discovery, which would probably get a rebranding of sorts if the Discovery brands are split, maybe Investigation CNN.
• The NBC Sports equivalent is TNT Sports. Apparently, TNT Sports includes not only TNT but also TBS and TruTV, the latter of which could possibly rebranded as a full TNT Sports network in the not-too-distant future. As I mentioned before, sports is still big business at WBD.
• The Bravo equivalent is Cartoon Network/Adult Swim. Just as NBC is like HBO in NBC Universal's eyes, NBCU sees Bravo as their Adult Swim-like powerhouse. Much like Bravo, Adult Swim has a lot of critical hits and fan-favorite franchises that attract younger viewers and the core demographics these media companies crave. While the audiences aren't as large for Bravo and Adult Swim as they used to be, they still bring in a youthful energy and fan-friendly content on a creative and commercial scale. And Cartoon Network's still a thing, I guess. I don't know. Probably. Maybe. I don't really care.
• The Telemundo equivalent is TCM. Don't laugh, the comparison is quite valid, Comcast is putting a lot into Telemundo, expanding the network's footprint nationally, and making it a significant part of its broadcast strategy, much like what WBD is doing with the TCM brand, as I mentioned earlier. There hasn't been this much concentration on TCM on a corporate scale in a long time. 

Everything else, which is mostly the Discovery brands, would be spun off into a stand-alone unit. And if they could stick the remaining debt in that new unit, that would get rid of THAT problem. 

That debt, which has gone down a lot since 2022 "thanks" to cuts, media purges, and tightwad mentality towards creators, has been seen as the reason the company has been in a slump. Personally, I think it's the myopic folks in the C-suite who were pushing an anti-diversity, anti-creative agenda who are realizing that may have been a fool's errand. 

These are fools, you know, and the re-embrace of the HBO brand on their premium streaming platform may be the about-face this company needed.

I don't think we're going to see the same Warner Bros Discovery going forward. Even though the site is officially HBO Max again, we can't rewind. We've gone too far. Though it would be nice if they didn't see Looney Tunes as "kids medium" since that nearly century-old brand is for everybody. Kind of awkward having a Bugs Bunny user avatar when the original shorts aren't even there. 

In the end, HBO Max's return may not be much on the surface, especially since everybody still called them that, but it could be the beginning of the same kind of shift that happened about 20 years ago when the AOL culture got pushed out of AOL Time Warner. 

Discovery has been a liability at the company for years and a relic of linear cable whose age is finally showing. Doubt it'll actually happen, but the end of the Discovery era may be happening right before our eyes.

We'll see. It's going to be an interesting year ahead.