Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Plummets To An All-Time Low Following Two Years Of David Zaslav's Leadership

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Plummets To An All-Time Low Following Two Years Of David Zaslav's Leadership

Warner Bros. Discovery stock has plummeted to an all-time low following what can only be described as a disastrous two years of David Zaslav's leadership. Find more details about what's happened here...

By JoshWilding - Aug 08, 2024 05:08 AM EST
Filed Under: DC Studios

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has become a despised figure in Hollywood, largely due to his decision to scrap near-completed films as tax write-offs (Batgirl and Coyote vs. Acme remain the two most noteworthy examples).

The seemingly endless changes made to HBO Max, now called Max, have also been unpopular and attempted cost-cutting measures only served to alienate creatives and executives alike. 

The impact of Zaslav's disastrous leadership is being felt fully this week after Warner Bros. Discovery stock slid 11% yesterday to an all-time low. This came after the company was forced to record a massive $9.1 billion write-down reflecting the loss of value of several of its linear television networks.

Shares have fallen to as low as $6.86 per share; for context, they were trading at $24.78 per share when Zaslav started the job in 2022 and had dropped to $14.76 this time last year. Warner Bros. Discovery's market capitalization now stands at $18.8 billion compared to over $50 million following Discovery's acquisition of WarnerMedia in April 2022.

The merger hasn't worked out, though the company blames this latest valuation on the "difference between market capitalization and book value" due to a weak U.S. advertising market and "uncertainty" surrounding future carriage deals.

Among their biggest issues is the loss of the NBA. Zaslav's response to that has been to try and sue the NBA in a bid to retain the rights, claiming Warner Bros. Discovery matched Amazon's offer for them, thereby giving WBD first dibs.

Max, HBO, and Discovery+ did add 3.6 million subscribers in the latest quarter for a total of 103.3 million subscriptions, though its direct-to-consumer offerings still suffered a $107 million loss.

Warner Bros. Discovery is thought to be exploring the possibility of separating its film, TV, and streaming studios from linear TV channels, primarily because $40 billion in debt lies with the latter. However, many analysts believe this attempt to unlock more value will fail. 

In July, the company cut another 1000 jobs; Zaslav, meanwhile, earned a reported $49.7 million last year. 

"At Warner Bros. Discovery, our top priority is our global direct-to-consumer business and we are extremely pleased with the growing momentum we are seeing, as demonstrated by another strong quarter of growth with 3.6 million net adds, fueled by our ongoing international expansion and investment in high quality, diverse content," Zaslav said in a statement yesterday.

"In light of industry headwinds, we have and will continue taking bold steps, like reimagining our existing linear partnerships and pursuing new bundling opportunities, with the goal to get Max on the devices of more consumers faster and at a fraction of the acquisition cost, and we are seeing clear evidence that these and other actions we are taking will help drive segment profitability in the second half of the year and into 2025 and beyond."

Stay tuned for updates. 

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Malatrova15
Malatrova15 - 8/8/2024, 6:03 AM
Time to put a chick on it and make it..
S8R8M
S8R8M - 8/8/2024, 6:05 AM
@Malatrova15 - Kathleen Kennedy or Amy Pascal 🤣
KennKathleen
KennKathleen - 8/8/2024, 6:30 AM
@Malatrova15 - User Comment Image


User Comment Image


User Comment Image


User Comment Image

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Blergh
Blergh - 8/8/2024, 8:06 AM
@Malatrova15 - the Panderstone is too powerfull to be contained!
Batmangina
Batmangina - 8/8/2024, 6:08 AM
That dumpy broad that did She-Hulk needs a gig...PROFIT!
Blergh
Blergh - 8/8/2024, 8:07 AM
@Batmangina - genuinely asking...you mean the dumptruck on She-Hulk? Because I'd be into that ngl
Batmangina
Batmangina - 8/8/2024, 9:57 AM
@Blergh - The doughy one that never read comics. She's perfect.
TheRogue
TheRogue - 8/8/2024, 12:13 PM
@Batmangina - This why articles suck now. Stop talking about something that got zero to do with the source. What the [frick] has that got to do with warner bros man.
abd00bie
abd00bie - 8/8/2024, 2:40 PM
@TheRogue - Just puffing up his swollen mangina
Conquistador
Conquistador - 8/8/2024, 6:19 AM
I think 2 years is still too early to really see psotive changes. Let's see where things are by the time it's been 5 years.

WB dug themselves a hole over a long time capped by the way they reacted to the pandemic.

ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 8/8/2024, 6:49 AM
@Conquistador - The changes at Disney seemed to take 2 years or under.

Bob Iger left Disney in 2020.
They started to go to shit in 2021.

Bob Iger came back at the very end of 2022.
Now, less than two years later they are back on form.

From a year of laughable flops to Inside out making $1.5 billion and Deadpool & Wolverine well on it's way to doing a similar numbers.
Conquistador
Conquistador - 8/8/2024, 7:02 AM
@ObserverIO - WB ain't disney though, they are quite different entities.

Iger was well known to Disney anyway, and i'm sure had he not secured the votes it would have taken longer.

Things started to go to shit as you rightfully said during the pandemic. WB just went to shit alot more. lol.

WarMonkey
WarMonkey - 8/8/2024, 8:07 AM
@ObserverIO - Chapek greenlit both Inside Out 2 and DP3 FYI.
ItsNotForMeWahh
ItsNotForMeWahh - 8/8/2024, 8:16 AM
@ObserverIO - It's clear we are out of the Chapek Era of films and shows. He didn't seem to care about quality and just wanted content and it clearly showed. I'm still apprehensive about Iron Heart for a few reason but mostly because it was a show under him and it finished filming 2 years ago. Both are red flags
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 8/8/2024, 9:40 AM
@WarMonkey - Greenlighting doesn't guarantee quality or success. There were things that Iger greenlit that Chapek dropped the ball on. On paper, Agatha, Cap 4 and Thunderbolts are obviously bad decisions taht Iger has been saddled with, but now that Feige has been given more freedom, it wouldn't surprise me if those projects actually turn out good and are successful.
TheOtherOn
TheOtherOn - 8/8/2024, 6:23 AM
"In July, the company cut another 1000 jobs; Zaslav, meanwhile, earned a reported $49.7 million last"

I have mentioned here many times about "Hollywood Accounting" term. This, right here, is perhaps one of the best example to describe it without writing a 1,000 words essay.

As the legendary Mr. Bean would say...

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WhatIfRickJames
WhatIfRickJames - 8/8/2024, 6:26 AM
Josh coming in hot with a hit piece. Everyone is losing money in entertainment big guy.
GeneralZod
GeneralZod - 8/8/2024, 7:45 AM
@WhatIfRickJames - Exactly. This is a pathetic article. See my comment above.
Knightrider
Knightrider - 8/8/2024, 6:28 AM
Don’t forget that Suicide Squad also hurt WB big time.


WB really bet big on The Suicide Squad being the next big thing like Deadpool, but they never really took off.

Sadly this will mean I probably won’t get a Superman game any time soon
Arthorious
Arthorious - 8/8/2024, 8:07 AM
@Knightrider - it wouldve helped if they didn’t release it in Max and in theaters at the same time. Probably not by much but still.
KennKathleen
KennKathleen - 8/8/2024, 6:40 AM
Dear Mr. Zaslav,

User Comment Image

...

1. Stay away from SweetBaby Inc.
2. Do the exact opposite of what they ask
3. Make Injustice 3

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Blergh
Blergh - 8/8/2024, 8:04 AM
@KennKathleen - lol, reading Sweet Baby Inc.'s name on here has successfully finished the circle.
It's a completely irrelevant consultancy studio with dumb ideas but by no means the big danger people are framing them as.
KennKathleen
KennKathleen - 8/8/2024, 10:25 AM
@Blergh - one of the biggest issues faced by television & movie entertainment has been shoehorned characters.

I can't say for certain that SB is the head of the problem, but their way of thinking has surely been muddled into the recipe for failure. 🪙 🪙
AllsGood
AllsGood - 8/8/2024, 6:43 AM
Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Plummets to An All-Time Low Following Two Years of David Zaslav's Leadership.

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KennKathleen
KennKathleen - 8/8/2024, 7:02 AM
- Bugs Bunny & co boxing game.

- Open world WB mmorpg.

- Daffy Duck "Despicable" podcast

- Morning news with Porky Pig

- Yosemite Sam BBQ Sauce

- Tiny Toons: Learning Land
[Interactive Digital learning center for kids]




MuadDib
MuadDib - 8/8/2024, 7:11 AM
Sazlav has been a terrible leader for the healing pile that was once a shining star. For decades HBO was almost always associated with quality. But merging with and all the Discovery channel reality show garbage, and prioritizing quantity over quality really dulled the sheen HBO earned over so many years. Now its catalog is bloated with trash reality content no one wants, while they license their IP’s to other networks like the new Batman cartoon to Amazon.

This guy is a total joke of a CEO. He took over the Titanic and drove it straight into an iceberg, almost purposefully. I struggle to think of even one good decision he’s made.
StSteven
StSteven - 8/8/2024, 7:43 AM
@MuadDib - Well to be fair, based on the photo at the top of the article, his decision to go “sans the tie” for whatever that presentation was probably a good decision as it helps to humanize him and bring him down to earth with the rest of us schmoes.

Seems to work for all the other billionaires whenever they’re trying to sell us on whatever bullshit they’re putting out, so good on him for picking up on the trend. I can practically feel their stock resurging as I write this. 🙄
WarMonkey
WarMonkey - 8/8/2024, 8:14 AM
@MuadDib - Your comment reminds me that last night I wanted to watch a Harry Potter movie. I know WB owns those movies so I went to the Max app just to find out it is not there. They licensed it out to Paramount. That's happened before with some of their IPs when I want to watch them there.
Arthorious
Arthorious - 8/8/2024, 8:14 AM
@MuadDib - I just really dislike what Discovery Channel has been for over the past 15 years. Rarely about science, nature, or different fields, but is now reality shows or home building.
MuadDib
MuadDib - 8/8/2024, 10:28 AM
@Arthorious - Discovery and TLC used to actually have educational programs, before they shifted to brain numbing mushy reality shows.
Arthorious
Arthorious - 8/9/2024, 8:42 AM
@MuadDib - I miss those days. As kids, my brother and I use to tune it at 8pm for Wild Discovery and learn something new about an animal. Gone are those days.
Thing94
Thing94 - 8/8/2024, 7:39 AM
Batman and Deadpool incoming
thewanderer
thewanderer - 8/8/2024, 8:00 AM
The entire stock market is down right now. This isn’t a WB thing.
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