👉 Background: Warner Bros Discovery is the name of the merged companies that were formerly Warner Media (Superman, Batman and DC Universe) and Discovery Inc (Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and TLC).

👉 What happened: In June 2021, it was announced that Warner Media and Discovery Inc would merge into its own $43 billion USD entity. And now, the merged company has announced that their financial results for the last quarter were pretty pretty disappointing.

• We’re talking double-digit decline in TV advertising business
  
• We’re talking slower growth of subscriptions for HBO, HBO Max and Discovery+
  

👉 What else: The good news? After 10 months of major restructuring, the merger is finally complete and they are “one company now”. 2022 was the year of restructure. 2023 is the year of building. In other words, the worst is supposedly over.

What's the key learning?

💡When it comes to big chunky mergers, sometimes it's about one step backwards to take two steps forward.

💡We know that when two large companies merge there are often huge financial benefits.

• Shared resources, complementary customers and a broader set of brands

But it also creates some major teething problems.

• Integrating their operations, cultures and even sometimes their HQ before they can begin growing aggressively.
  

💡Mergers can be a big hit, like Australia Post acquiring Startrack Express… but they can also be major busts, like Japanese beer company Kirin acquiring Lion Dairy and Drinks, the owner of Four X Gold and Tooheys. So by restructuring their operations, Warner Bros Discovery is planning to position itself for long-term success.

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