Posted on 04/24/2022 7:46:51 AM PDT by Cecily
On his second full business day at the helm of the combined Warner Bros. Discovery, CEO David Zaslav with new CNN President Chris Licht huddled with Ted Turner in Washington, D.C., then flew to Atlanta to meet employees at the Midtown campus of what used to be known as Turner Broadcasting.
There, Zaslav took selfies, toured the facilities and gave a pep talk to staff in nearly the same spot where the intrepid Turner introduced the 24/7 news operation CNN to the world more than 42 years earlier.
AT&T formally spun off the WarnerMedia media properties April 8 into a new business with Discovery, creating a film, television and streaming giant. Zaslav’s visits with the billionaire Turner and to the Midtown campus were nods to history, but aside from CNN, Atlanta and many of the Turner brands are second tier within the new company.
The Warner Bros. film studio, the HBO Max streaming platform and CNN have gotten the most national attention in this latest media merger. Barely mentioned have been profitable Atlanta-based properties like TNT, TBS and Cartoon Network that now seem like lesser stars in a constellation of brands that stretch from Harry Potter films to HGTV.
(Excerpt) Read more at ajc.com ...
I am absolutely stoked. I have and love Discovery Plus, it’s basically the only streaming channel I watch. But I have HBO Max too. If the two of them fornicate into a single service, I am nuking all my other streaming channels.
Meeting with Ted Turner doesn’t bode well for any actual change.
Will Brian Stelter get a janitor’s job under the new regime ?
Only a courtesy, as with all acquisitions, their integration plan has been been in place for months, but kept secret. The fact that there have been no leaks says the Discovery team has done its job well because premature info can disrupt ongoing negotiations.
I don’t know what Discovery is going to do with CNN but rest assured, Discovery does.
Two Weeks ago, I stayed at the Omni connected to he CNN Tower. The mall in the Tower was empty - the restaurants and the stores were closed. The only place open was Chic-Fil-A. At one time this was a good location for business meetings and just to have lunch at a decent price.
The Tower and Mall were one time a very busy place.
Will Brian Stelter get a janitor’s job under the new regime ?I'm thinking more like a Fox News contributor...You know like Donna Brazile, Marie Harf.
Don't be surprised if you see him at Fox News Elections Decisions Desk (you vote, we decide).
Or maybe working along side Paul Ryan at Fox News Corp headquarters.
Do they still have the CNN studio tour there, or is that gone as well?
Had a similar experience. Like the Omnis for their quality and owned by the conservative Rowling family out of TX.
As for CNN, John Malone obviously has plans for it. He’s not a frivolous guy and that network isn’t making money.
Hopefully end of CNN too.
CNN+ has folded. Time for CNN to bite the dust too.
Ted was at least smart enough to simply have his people report the news during the weekday on the hour, every hour. For the most part, personal political biases were segregated to specific weekend shows, along with various things like fashion and sports. If we can get that old 80’s era style CNN back, that’ll be an improvement.
Actually, believe the opposite.
If the byline is from Rodney Ho on the entertainment beat of the AJC, you can trust it. After all, a name like his opens a lot of doors out in Hollywood.
Shutting down CNN+ is a big deal, but if Discovery really wants to compete- in streaming and in broadcast and cable, they need to get CNN- (cable CNN) into a competitive position.
Sacred cows, like CNN-, can drag entire corporations into the ditch. Look at the many repeats of the American auto industry struggling to compete with Japan, Korea and now Tesla.
Turner has dementia. I think it was just a photo op.
-PJ
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.