Warner Bros Discovery to put itself up for sale

David Zaslav, President and CEO of WBD, said in a statement published this week that the WBD board would review its options following the bids, as it looks to identify the "best path forward to unlock the full value of our assets".

David Ellison's Paramount Skydance is among the companies reported to be interested in an acquisition of the rival studio. However, WBD has already rejected a bid from Paramount for being too low.

Reports also say that NBCUniversal parent Comcast is among the companies interested in WBD’s assets.

WBD’s statement said the strategic review followed “unsolicited interest the company has received from multiple parties for both the entire company and Warner Bros.” This suggests the review could result in: a sale of the entire company; a continuation of the current plan to split the company into two; or another outcome.

Zaslav has been preparing to split the company into two publicly traded halves, believing it would better reflect the value of Warner Bros, which would include streaming platform HBO Max and the movie studio, and Discovery Global, which would house CNN and other cable channels.

The move comes as the media industry continues to consolidate, sparked partly by changes in audience habits, most notably the rise of streaming competitors, such as Netflix, and the decline in cable TV viewership.

Skydance Media and Paramount Global recently completed their long-planned $8.4bn merger. Discover more here.