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Fake News CNN Effectively Worthless After Parent Warner Bros. Takes $9.1 Billion Writedown
The Liberty Daily ^ | August 8, 2024 | Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge

Posted on 08/08/2024 11:55:49 AM PDT by Red Badger

What had been obvious “to the rest of us” for years, is finally official: late last night, shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent of CNN and TNT, crashed 10% to the lowest level on record after it reported dire results, which missed across the board and plunged across every income statement category…

… but the biggest hit – and surprise – was the company’s stunning $9.1 billion charge taken to write down the value of its traditional TV networks, such as CNN and TNT, which were acquired in 2022 when Warner Bros Discovery was created as part of its acquisition of WarnerMedia. The write down confirmed that legacy cable channels like CNN and TNT are no longer worth what they were when the $42 billion merger was completed. In fact, judging by the ongoing mass layoffs at the former, one can argue that CNN’s value is now negative and will continue to be so until it stops hemorrhaging cash.

For the quarter, Warner Bros. reported a net loss of $10 billion, which included additional charges of $2.1 billion related to its merger. Revenue for the quarter fell 6.2% to $9.71 billion. Of note, the revenue collapse in the company’s Networks segment, which includes CNN, just won’t stop.

“Two years ago market valuations and prevailing conditions for legacy media companies were quite different than they are today,” CEO David Zaslav said on a call with investors on Wednesday. “This impairment acknowledges this and better aligns our carrying values with our future outlook.”

As Bloomberg notes, the writedown follows last month’s decision by the NBA to drop Warner Bros. as a broadcast partner and award a $76 billion, 11-year media rights deal to Walt Disney, Comcast and Amazon.com. Warner Bros. filed a lawsuit against the NBA last month alleging a breach of contract.

“At this point, we’ve handed it off to our lawyers,” Zaslav said on the call. “We have confidence in our position.”

More importantly, the writedown reflects the continued exodus of viewers from cable networks like roaring propaganda dumpster fire CNN to streaming, taking with them the advertising sales and subscriber fees that supply most of the revenue for conventional TV. The changes have rippled across media. Disney, which announced third-quarter results earlier Wednesday, reported declines in linear television advertising sales and subscribers, sending the stock to a ten year low and once again confirming that once you go woke… well, everyone knows what happens next.

Warner Bros. has eliminated more than 2,000 positions over the past year and slashed 100 jobs at CNN last month. The company raised subscription prices for its Max streaming service in June.

Under different management teams over the past 20 years, Warner Bros. has been involved in some of the worst and most criticized merger deals. They include the $124 billion merger of Time Warner with America Online in 2001 and the later purchase of Time Warner by AT&T Inc. for $87 billion in 2018.

Warner Bros. shares plunged as much as 9.9% to $6.95, the lowest price since the stock of the merged company began trading in April 2022, and down over 70% in the past two years.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: bloggers; cnn; discovery; poeticjustice
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Elon could buy it with his pocket change money................
1 posted on 08/08/2024 11:55:49 AM PDT by Red Badger
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To: Red Badger

LOL.

Could a communist talking head such as Van Jones lose his job at CNN? How will such a good communist survive without his evil capitalist paycheck?


2 posted on 08/08/2024 11:59:21 AM PDT by Dilbert San Diego
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To: Red Badger

Might as well just pull the plug. The viewers did a long time ago.


3 posted on 08/08/2024 11:59:38 AM PDT by FLT-bird
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Same with ATT


4 posted on 08/08/2024 12:00:08 PM PDT by Gene Eric (Don't be a statist! )
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To: Red Badger

Wouldn’t that be a hoot. If Musk bought CNN and turned it into the libertarian news network.


5 posted on 08/08/2024 12:00:54 PM PDT by maro (MAGA!)
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To: Red Badger

They will be fine. They are government subsidized with tax payer’s dollars.


6 posted on 08/08/2024 12:02:10 PM PDT by Openurmind (The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world it leaves to its children. ~ D. Bonhoeffer)
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To: Red Badger

You could buy it with your pocket money.


7 posted on 08/08/2024 12:06:23 PM PDT by Jonty30 (Genghis Khan did not have the most descendants. His father had more. )
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To: Red Badger

Its seven dollars a share right now. Basically a penny stock.

An yes....the market cap is less then hald of what twitter was.


8 posted on 08/08/2024 12:12:40 PM PDT by suasponte137
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To: Red Badger

I would buy it just to put all those pukes in the street


9 posted on 08/08/2024 12:14:15 PM PDT by ronnie raygun
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To: Red Badger
Elon could buy it with his pocket change money................

I often thought Rush should have bought CNN

10 posted on 08/08/2024 12:14:24 PM PDT by FatherofFive (we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor)
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To: Red Badger

be a good time to cancel cable tv

speed up their circling the bowl


11 posted on 08/08/2024 12:15:06 PM PDT by joshua c
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To: Red Badger

The only smart thing I’ve EVER seen AT&T do is when they rid themselves of that trash.


12 posted on 08/08/2024 12:18:00 PM PDT by rhinohunter (Elections have consequences. Stolen elections have catastrophic consequences.)
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To: Red Badger

Butt, butt, butt.......


13 posted on 08/08/2024 12:20:12 PM PDT by rktman (Destroy America from within? Check! WTH? Enlisted USN 1967 to end up with this💩? 🚫💉! 🇮🇱👍!)
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To: rhinohunter

Nobody who buys it and intends to keep the same format will make any money.

Someone will have to buy it and scrap the whole lineup and start from scratch.............


14 posted on 08/08/2024 12:20:31 PM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger

15 posted on 08/08/2024 12:25:15 PM PDT by mikey_hates_everything
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To: Openurmind
They (CNN) are government subsidized with tax payer’s dollars.

How so?

16 posted on 08/08/2024 12:27:02 PM PDT by JesusIsLord
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To: Red Badger

Or he can wait another year until they close and buy it on the Auction Block for mere pennies on the dollar. Then change it to the CNN Conservative News Network without telling anyone.


17 posted on 08/08/2024 12:29:27 PM PDT by cquiggy (Ck)
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To: cquiggy; Red Badger

Yep. Wait till it shows up on eBay.


18 posted on 08/08/2024 12:51:42 PM PDT by Retain Mike ( Sat Cong)
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To: Dilbert San Diego
Could a communist talking head such as Van Jones lose his job at CNN?

And he's one of the smarter ones.

19 posted on 08/08/2024 1:09:00 PM PDT by usurper (AI was born with a birth defect.)
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To: Red Badger

Old media. The problem is they want to be bailed out by the government - legacy media. Already happening here in Canada, but media darlings in the USA are not shy about wanting the same.


20 posted on 08/08/2024 2:54:20 PM PDT by Sam Gamgee
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