Discovery today announced the new name of the proposed standalone global entertainment company that will emerge from the combination of WarnerMedia and Discovery assets: “Warner Bros. Discovery.”
“The Warner Bros. Discovery name will honor, celebrate and elevate the world’s most-storied creative studio in the world with the high quality, global nonfiction storytelling heritage of Discovery,” the company said.
David Zaslav, CEO of Discovery and future chief executive of the proposed Warner Bros. Discovery combined company, unveiled the new name to WarnerMedia employees from the Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank.
“Warner Bros. Discovery will aspire to be the most innovative, exciting and fun place to tell stories in the world – that is what the company will be about. We love the new company’s name because it represents the combination of Warner Bros.’ fabled hundred year legacy of creative, authentic storytelling and taking bold risks to bring the most amazing stories to life, with Discovery’s global brand that has always stood brightly for integrity, innovation and inspiration,” he said.
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“There are so many wonderful, creative and journalistic cultures that will make up the Warner Bros. Discovery family. We believe it will be the best and most exciting place in the world to tell big, important and impactful stories across any genre – and across any platform: film, television and streaming.”
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The initial wordmark for the proposed company includes the iconic line from the Maltese Falcon, “the stuff that dreams are made of,” an additional homage to the rich legacy of Warner Bros. and the focus of what the proposed company will be about.
Last month, AT&T and Discovery reached a definitive agreement to combine WarnerMedia’s premium entertainment, sports and news assets with Discovery’s leading nonfiction and international entertainment and sports businesses to create a single company. The deal was AT&T cutting the cord on WarnerMedia in a $43 billion deal, three years after buying Time Warner. Discovery, which rules in unscripted fare, adds scripted content to its portfolio and streaming assets.
It’s not clear how it will be structured, but the expectation is that the combined company will offer some type of bundle with Discovery+ and HBO Max. The deal is expected to close in the middle of next year.
That deal was followed in short order by Amazon announced plans to buy MGM in what appears to be another era of consolidated in entertainment industry spurred by the dual demands of streaming — cash and content.