New name unveiled post merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery

The merger of Discovery and  WarnerMedia has resulted in the name "Warner Bros. Discovery".  This follows AT&T and Discovery's agreement to combine WarnerMedia's premium entertainment, sports, and news assets with Discovery's entertainment and sports businesses to create a single company. 

"We love the new company's name because it represents the combination of Warner Bros.' fabled hundred-year legacy with Discovery's global brand," president and CEO of Discovery and the future CEO of the proposed Warner Bros. Discovery, David Zaslav said. The initial wordmark for the proposed company includes the iconic line from the Maltese Falcon, "the stuff that dreams are made of", paying an additional homage to the legacy of Warner Bros. and the focus of what the proposed company will be about.

The US$43 billion merger deal between the two companies announced in May this year, allows the new standalone global entertainment entity to include channels such as HBO, Warner Bros., Discovery, DC Comics, CNN, Cartoon Network, among others. The proposed new company led by Zaslav, will consist of 13 members in its board of directors, seven of which are appointed by AT&T, including the chairperson of the board, while Discovery appointed six members, including Zaslav. AT&T's shareholders will own 71% of the company while Discovery shareholders will own 29%. 

The transaction will combine WarnerMedia’s content library of intellectual property with Discovery’s global footprint, variety of local-language content and regional expertise across more than 200 countries and territories.

The company will be able to invest in enhancing the programming options across its global linear pay-TV and broadcast channels, and offer more innovative video experiences and consumer choices. Additionally, the new entity will also be able to increase investment and capabilities in original content and programming, create more opportunity for under-represented storytellers and independent creators, serve customers with innovative video experiences and points of engagement, and propel more investment in family-friendly nonfiction content. MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to AT&T for additional information.

Separately, in May this year, Discovery announced its partnership with television ad-measurement company iSpot.tv to deliver advertisers information about the effectiveness of their advertising across its streaming footprint in the United States. Through the use television conversions and unified measurement offerings from iSpot, the agreement allows Discovery to offer its advertisers the ability to attribute ad exposures generated from its networks and streaming properties to sales activities that occur as a result.

“Our advertisers know Discovery is an excellent vehicle for reaching highly engaged audiences with a brand message, but today we’re taking more steps to ensure they have the proof that investing with Discovery works and the intelligence to know how to maximize their investments with us going forward,” Jim Keller, executive vice president, digital ad sales and advanced ddvertising, Discovery, Inc., said. 

Its press release also said Discovery, can leverage iSpot’s response insights to help inform data-driven allocations and obtain a precise, granular view of cross-platform ad viewership and provide advertisers with a clear picture of the incremental audience delivered by Discovery’s streaming and OTT services.

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