DAVID ZASLAV

After thousands of layoffs, stock woes and program cancelations, Warner Bros. Discovery has created a $27 million bonus pool for top executives and also increased incentive awards for its chief executive, David Zaslav.

CNN in February had its lowest-rated month in advertiser-coveted demographic since May 2012, and its third lowest-rated month since the beginning of 2001.

Media company has struck a deal with New Line Cinema to expand the Middle-earth cinematic universe for streaming.

Comcast, Endeavor Group Holdings and Netflix are among the companies that could have interest in acquiring WWE.

From Wagatha Christie to Batgirl, these moments were some of the year's most unfortunate.

A "Black Adam" sequel won't be part of the next phase of DC movies from Warner Bros. Discovery, according to Dwayne Johnson.

CNBC asked 12 past and present media executives for one industry-shaking prediction for 2023 under the veil of anonymity.

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is prioritizing cash generation over everything else.

The White House state dinner honoring French President Emmanuel Macron was a who's who of Democratic elite featuring the biggest names in Hollywood, media and business.

Network CEO Chris Licht sent an email to staffers saying this week's cuts "will be a difficult time for everyone."

The current advertising market is worse than at any point during the coronavirus pandemic, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said Tuesday.

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav mentioned the potential to do “something” with “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling on another title in the Wizarding World franchise “going forward."

Warner Bros. Discovery reported third quarter earnings on Thursday.

James Gunn, the writer-director who made the “Guardians of the Galaxy” household names for Marvel, will soon be responsible for the future of Batman, Superman and the entire DC Universe for Warner Bros.

James Gunn and Peter Safran will be the next co-heads of Warner Bros. Discovery's DC Comics film and TV unit, the company announced Tuesday.

In Hollywood’s superhero era, there has always been one particularly conspicuous absence.

Bryan Lourd has transcended the role of superagent to become a consigliere to media executives and possibly the most powerful person in Hollywood.

Dan Lin, who had been in talks to take over Warner Bros. Discovery's DC Comics film unit, isn't taking the job, after all.

CNN White House correspondent John Harwood says he’s exiting the news channel.

The first steps toward change at CNN have been slow and incremental — at least until the network cancelled its long-running media criticism show ‘Reliable Sources’ and cut loose its host, Brian Stelter.

The release dates for the sequels to "Aquaman" and "Shazam" are being shuffled, as Warner Bros. Discovery seeks to cut costs following its pricey merger.

With HBO’s new ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is hoping to beat the merger odds.

Amazon's "The Rings of Power" and HBO's "House of the Dragon" serve very different purposes for their respective studios.

Embroiled actor Ezra Miller announced they were treating their "complex mental health issues" weeks after Warner Bros. confirmed "The Flash" is on track for a 2023 release.

After a string of arrests and erratic behavior that spanned Hawaii to Vermont, “Flash” actor Ezra Miller said they have begun treatment for “complex mental health issues.”.

The cuts are part of a larger Warner Bros. Discovery effort to reduce costs.

Ezra Miller has been charged with felony burglary in Stamford, VT, according to a report from the Vermont State Police.

Actor Ezra Miller has been charged with felony burglary in Vermont, the latest in a string of incidents involving the embattled star of “The Flash.”.

Warner Bros. Discovery has shelved production of its film Batgirl. It's a good time to recall her path to this point.

A sweeping strategic shift is an enormous step back for consumers that could very well backfire.

Unlike WarnerMedia's last CEO, new chief David Zaslav is embracing movie theaters and traditional cable TV instead of taking a streaming-first attitude.

Investors got a big hint into Warner Bros. Discovery's strategy earlier this week when it announced it would shelve its straight-to-streaming DC film "Batgirl."

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is expected to reveal the fate of popular HBO Max originals like Hacks, Peacemaker and South Side.

In a highly unusual move that has rattled Hollywood, Warner Bros.

Expedia's Peter Kern and Warner Bros.

Chris Wallace, the most prominent personality lured to the since-shuttered CNN+ streaming service, will host an interview show on Sunday nights on the television network starting this fall.

The results don't include first-quarter performance from WarnerMedia, which Discovery bought this month.

CNN executives wanted CNN+ to compete with The New York Times. But an unusual series of events doomed the streaming service.

In a memo, incoming CNN chief executive Chris Licht said the company's CNN+ streaming service would shut down at the end of April.

In a memo, incoming CNN chief executive Chris Licht said the company's CNN+ streaming service would shut down at the end of April.

Parent company Warner Bros. Discovery invested a reported $120 million into the streaming service only last year.

CNN is shutting down its CNN+ streaming service less than a month after its launch.

The paltry number casts doubt on the future of CNN+ following the recently completed combination of Discovery and WarnerMedia

New Warner Bros. Discovery head David Zaslav will try to lean on his personality to make up for his lack of Hollywood experience.

Shares of the new Warner Bros.

"I am joining CNN because I feel a genuine pull to return to news at such a critical moment in history," Licht said.

Stephen Colbert gave a heartfelt sendoff to his show's producer, Chris Licht, who was appointed Monday as the new chairman and CEO of CNN.

Chris Licht, who currently runs Stephen Colbert's late-night show at CBS but has a news background, is expected to be named the new president of CNN.

The executive producer of Stephen Colbert's CBS late night show is expected to be named CNN head next week.

Under new chief Chris Licht, CNN will dial down the prime-time partisanship and double down on the network's news-gathering muscle, top sources tell me. Why it matters: Ratings are secondary to credibility, in the view of Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, who's taking over CNN.Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for freeJeff Zucker's successor at the CNN helm will be Licht — showrunner of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" and a po

How an upcoming merger at Time Warner could upend life at the cable news network.

The abrupt ouster of CNN chief executive Jeff Zucker because of a workplace relationship has left some prominent employees feeling angry and uncertain about the direction of their network at a pivotal moment.

Zucker's exit from CNN may ease Discovery CEO David Zaslav's integration of CNN into his broader streaming strategy, sources say.

There's a place for CNN in the proposed $43 billion combination of WarnerMedia and Discovery, billionaire media mogul John Malone told CNBC.

Several top WarnerMedia executives never liked the HBO Max name. Merging with Discovery will give the combined company a chance to change it.

Jeff Zucker will stay at WarnerMedia at least until the AT&T media unit merges with Discovery, sources say.

The next big player in the streaming wars now has a name: Warner Bros. David Zaslav, the Discovery CEO who will lead the new combined venture if cleared by regulators, announced the name to WarnerMedia employees Tuesday, according to a press release. The company's tagline will be, "the stuff that dreams are made of," in a nod to the 1941 Warner Bros. film, "The Maltese Falcon." This story is developing. Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.

On today's show, Lora Kolodny breaks down the news that Michael Burry's regulatory filings revealed a short position against Tesla. Plus, Alex Sherman explains how the WarnerMedia merger with Discovery puts NBCUniversal and ViacomCBS on notice. Michael Burry of 'The Big Short' reveals a $530 million bet against TeslaFamed investor Michael Burry on Monday revealed in a regulatory filing a short position against Tesla worth more than half a billion. As of March 31, Burry owned 8,001 put contracts, with unknown value, strike price, or expiry, according to the filing. Given that context, it may not be surprising that WarnerDiscovery -- the leading candidate for a name, according to a person familiar with the matter -- is structuring itself for a future sale.

John Malone was willing to give up super-voting shares in Discovery to make a future sale easier, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.

AT&T says it will combine its massive WarnerMedia media assets, which includes HBO and CNN, with Discovery Inc. to create a new media heavyweight in a $43 billion deal.

WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar is reportedly eyeing an exit after the announcement of the company's merger with Discovery — which he reportedly only found out about recently. Kilar has "hired a legal team to negotiate his departure" as chief executive of WarnerMedia, a job he has held for about a year, The New York Times reported on Monday. The news came only hours after AT&T said it would spin off WarnerMedia, which owns HBO, Warner Bros., CNN, and more, and merge it with Discovery to create a new standalone company run by Discovery CEO David Zaslav. The idea was that the combined company would be better positioned to compete against the likes of Disney and Netflix, and Discovery's brands include HGTV, Food Network, and Animal Planet. The deal is expected to be finalized next year. But Kilar, the Times reports, was "kept in the dark about the deal until recent days." Zaslav told reporters on Monday that he and AT&T CEO John Stankey had met "secretly" over the past few months. Kilar's name was not mentioned in the AT&T press release announcing the $43 billion deal, and the Times reports that when Kilar sent a memo to employees about the "momentous news," he didn't mention anything about his future at the company. Kilar took over as the head of WarnerMedia in May 2020 after previously serving as Hulu's CEO. HBO Max, the new WarnerMedia streaming service, launched later that month. Kilar's reported plans to exit were revealed only three days after The Wall Street Journal published a profile of him, which described how he has "led one of the most radical overhauls in the entertainment industry" and opened by saying, "Jason Kilar might have a career as a tour guide if this WarnerMedia chief executive gig doesn't work out for him." More stories from theweek.com7 scathingly funny cartoons about Liz Cheney's ousterThe U.S. still has stricter mask policies for kids than EuropeFormer child star Ricky Schroder apologizes to Costco worker 'if I hurt your feelings' after mask confrontation

In a CNBC interview, Discovery CEO David Zaslav offered a lofty long-term subscriber target for the new company created out of a merger with AT&T's WarnerMedia.

AT&T is unwinding a huge part of its $84 billion acquisition of Time Warner, less than three years after it closed.Driving the news: AT&T this morning announced that it will merge its WarnerMedia properties with Discovery Inc.'s media assets.Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for freeAT&T's contributions will include cable networks CNN, TNN, TNT, Cartoon Network and HBO, plus streaming service HBO Max. Discovery's will include its Discovery-branded content, TLC, Food Network, Eurosport and its Discovery+ streaming service.The deal is expected to close in the middle of next year, via a joint venture that would have projected 2023 revenue of $52 billion and adjusted EBITDA of around $14 billion.The big winner is Elliott Management, the activist investor which last year took a $3.2 billion stake in AT&T and publicly argued that the Time Warner acquisition didn't make strategic sense.Elliott later signed a ceasefire with new AT&T CEO John Stankey, who agreed to spin off DirecTV via a deal with TPG Capital.There were reports in November that Elliott divested its AT&T stake, but my understanding is that it just sold off its small amount of common stock, but maintain most of its swaps. It subsequently purchased new common stock, to be reflected in a 13F being filed today.It does not appear that AT&T reached out to private equity firms to help buttress the deal.The big loser is former AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson. Not only were Time Warner and DirecTV his two biggest acquisitions, but his failed pursuit of T-Mobile triggered a massive termination fee that financially strengthened a smaller rival and arguably caused AT&T to sell off wireless spectrum.The big comp is Verizon, which also has a (relatively) new CEO who views networking as the crown jewel and content as a pricey distraction.The big note is how rushed this morning's announcement felt, despite some background insistence that it wasn't, per Axios media reporter Sara Fischer.They didn't announce the new company's name, instead saying they'll drop it "later this week."No disclosed decisions yet on if the two streaming services will be merged.Reporters had 30 minutes notice this morning of the Zoom call.No clarity on the future of WarnerMedia boss Jason Kilar, who was notably absent from the press release. Stankey simply said that Discovery CEO David Zaslav — who will run the new business — has lots of discussions ahead of him. The bottom line: Two things you can always count on after acquiring Time Warner are big controversy and big regrets.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.

The deal will see Harry Potter-maker Warner Bros. and Discovery take on Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon.

Discovery launched its new streaming service Discovery+ in the U.S. on Monday, hoping to carve out its own unscripted corner of the already crowded streaming space. Discovery+, which previously launched in several other countries, dubs itself "the definitive non-fiction, real-life subscription streaming service." The service can be streamed using Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku and Samsung devices, along with mobile, web and game consoles. "If you have Disney or Netflix, you have two great products, but we're completely different and we go really well with them." "That's our bet, we're putting a lot of resources behind it, and over the next couple of quarters we'll be reporting out our numbers and then we'll be projecting out how big big really is."

Discovery is joining the increasingly crowded streaming fray with its own reality-focused service Discovery Plus that will include shows from the Food Network, HGTV, TLC and its other networks. By comparison, the ad-free Disney Plus costs $7 a month and Netflix' most popular plan costs $14 a month. Discovery CEO David Zaslav first announced the streaming service in late 2019, but did not provide details until now. Discovery Plus joins a slew of new streaming services started to challenge traditional TV providers and dominant streaming services like Hulu and Netflix over the past year, including Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus, HBO Max and Comcast’s Peacock service. The service will role out in 25 countries in 2021 including Italy, Spain, U.K. and Ireland as well as India.

FILE - In this May 1, 2019 photo, Lisa Su, president and CEO of AMD, attends the opening bell at Nasdaq, in New York. Pay for women was up 2.3% from last year, looking at the median; the median change for men was 5.4%. The gain was driven primarily by rewards for performance, including $53 million in stock awards and $3 million in stock options, which vest over several years. To calculate CEO pay, Equilar adds salary, bonus, perks, stock awards, stock option awards, deferred compensation and other pay components that include benefits and perks. Stock awards can either be time-based, or performance-based, meaning the CEO has to meet certain goals before getting them.

Change from last year: 338%Her pay vs typical company worker: 604 times, up from 165Overall ranking: No. Virginia M. RomettyIBM$19.1 millionChange from last year: 9%Her pay vs typical company worker: 354 times, up from 319Overall ranking: 57___5. David ZaslavDiscovery$45.8 millionChange from last year: -65%His pay vs typical company worker: 578 times, down from 1,511Overall ranking: No. Shantanu NarayenAdobe Inc.$39.1 millionChange from last year: 38%His pay vs typical company worker: 266 times, up from 200Overall ranking: No. Larry J. MerloCVS Health$36.5 millionChange from last year: 66%His pay vs typical company worker: 790 times, up from 618Overall ranking: No.