The AT&T-Discovery media company will be called Warner Bros. Discovery

The AT&T logo displayed along with the Discovery and Warner Media logos. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

June 1 (Reuters) – Discovery Inc said on Tuesday that the recently announced global entertainment and media company created with the assets of Discovery and WarnerMedia will be called Warner Bros. Discovery.

Discovery CEO David Zaslav made the announcement during a meeting with WarnerMedia employees at the Warner Bros. studio. in Burbank, Calif., the company said. WarnerMedia chief executive Jason Kilar asked Zaslav questions, according to a source familiar with the meeting, during which Zaslav introduced himself and Discovery to WarnerMedia employees.

AT&T Inc (TN) and Discovery said in May that they would combine content from WarnerMedia – including the Harry Potter and Batman franchises, the CNN news network and sports programming – and Discovery’s unscripted shows from lifestyle television networks such as HGTV and TLC. Read more

The deal underscores audience movement from TV to streaming, where scale is needed to take on Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) and Walt Disney Co (DIS.N).

Discovery’s Zaslav will lead Warner Bros. Discovery, which is expected to see $3 billion in cost synergies with no plans to sell assets. The deal is expected to close in mid-2022, pending Discovery shareholder approval and regulatory approvals.

The combined company’s enterprise value will be more than $120 billion, carrying $58 billion in debt, including $43 billion from WarnerMedia and $15 billion from Discovery (DISCA.O).

AT&T (TN) said it would use the $43 billion from the tax-free spinoff of its media assets to pay off its debt of more than $160 billion.

In a call with reporters May 17, executives said additional details — including how the combined properties and services will be arranged — have yet to be worked out.

During an internal meeting on May 27, Kilar said he planned to remain in his role throughout this year and would reassess his options in 2022, according to a source familiar with the matter. Read more

Reporting by Helen Coster; Additional reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva

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