Warner Bros Discovery Wants to Be as Big as the Broadcasters

During Discovery’s upfront event last year, CEO David Zaslav said the company will stand “should-to-shoulder” with broadcasters. In its first upfront since the company merged with WarnerMedia, Warner Bros. Discovery is sending the same message. Warner Bros. Discovery officially took the wraps off its new company, which completed its $43 billion merger last month, in a celebrity-filled upfront presentation at New York's Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden Wednesday morning. Zaslav kicked things off by saying the company has had a larger audience in the adults 25-54 demo than any of the big four broadcast networks, led by sports. Jon Steinlauf on Warner Bros. Discovery's Upfront Strategy “Rupert Murdoch broadened the media landscape from three players to four players. Today, Warner Brothers Discovery makes the number five,” he said. But while Zaslav is positioning the company as the fifth broadcast network, competitors like Fox, NBCUniversal and Disney have spent upfront week talking about their portfolios in aggregate, versus highlighting only single broadcast networks. The newly-formed company united WarnerMedia—which includes Warner Bros., HBO, TNT, TBS, CNN, Cartoon Network and streamer HBO Max—with Discovery’s own portfolio, which includes Discovery, HGTV, TLC, ID, Food Network, OWN, Magnolia Network and Discovery+. Warner Bros. Discovery unveiled an upcoming slate of programming across its linear, streaming and digital platforms, highlighting brands like CNN and Discovery and emphasizing streaming services HBO Max and Discovery+. Following Zaslav’s opening remarks, Jennifer Hudson—star of an upcoming daytime talk show for the company—introduced a host of Warner Bros. Discovery talent, including Anderson Cooper, Bobby Flay and Chip and Joanna Gaines, who launched Magnolia Network last year. Upgrading Premiere for the upfront Ad sales chief Jon Steinlauf previously told Adweek that in this upfront he’d be expanding his Discovery Premiere offering, which is always a top upfront priority for him as it allowed advertisers to buy a mix of the 30 most-watched shows from across the Discovery portfolio. Marketers got a first look at the new Warner Bros. Discovery Premiere offering, which adds a considerable amount of top WarnerMedia inventory, including entertainment, sports and news. “We now have a seat at the primetime table and we're making it possible for you to buy that big slice of prime that in a schedule that we call Premiere,” Steinlauf said during the presentation. “The premiere package has all of our highest rated primetime sports, lifestyle, entertainment, CNN originals and films, all in a single plan at a lower CPM than broadcast.” Steinlauf said that on average, Premiere gives marketers 55% more GRPs and 23% more reach than broadcast. Keeping the streamers separate (for now) Though streaming services HBO Max and Discovery+ will eventually be consolidated, this year’s presentation made it clear the two platforms will be kept separate, at least during the upfront. “We own so much great content that we can nourish our streaming platforms without having to sacrifice highly-rated shows from our linear networks. While others pivot entirely to streaming, Warner Bros. Discovery continues to bring the highest quality infotainment every screen,” said Steinlauf. An HBO Max sizzle reel highlighted properties like The Flight Attendant, Hacks, The Staircase, Gossip Girl and, of course, DC and Rick and Morty. “We're focused on delivering the very best content and multimedia experiences directly to consumers around the world,” said president and CEO of global streaming JB Perrette. “We believe that with the potential of HBO Max and Discovery+ we are uniquely positioned to do just that.” Content announcements included a new untitled documentary on singer Lizzo for HBO, who announced the project herself. Mindy Kaling hit the stage to talk about her upcoming animated series Velma, a Scooby-Doo origin series that turns the titular character into a South Asian crime solver. "Hopefully you noticed my Velma is South Asian. If people freak out about that, I don't care,” Kaling told the crowd, adding that if Scooby-Doo had a talking dog that could solve crimes, then her Velma "can be brown." Steinlauf said that as of now, HBO Max with Ads is averaging 2-3 minutes of ads per hour, and Discovery+ averages 4-5 minutes. On the linear side, the company can now enable linear addressability in 60% of all pay-TV households. Linear is still king Though the presentation devoted ample time to the streaming services, Warner Bros. Discovery spent a significant amount of time pitching its cable networks, highlighting brands like HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Discovery, TNT and TBS. “Nearly one-third of all cable television viewers in the 25-54 demo are coming to our U.S., ad-supported entertainment networks every single night,” said U.S. networks group chair and chief content officer Kathleen Finch. Finch said that close to 100 million viewers are watching content live each week, with the networks having 500 hours of content every month. CNN’s big role New CNN Worldwide head Chris Licht offered up some of his most detailed remarks on the brand since taking over the role. “When David Zaslav put me in this role, he gave me one simple directive: Enhance CNN’s leadership as a definitive source for reliable news and exceptional journalism globally,” he said. “The next chapter of CNN is one where we aspire to be a beacon for the kind of journalism that is essential to a functioning democracy.” The company plans to reimagine its morning show, “seeking to be a disruptor” and compete with the broadcast network morning shows, according to Licht. He also told audiences that Chris Wallace’s show from the short-lived CNN+ will head to HBO Max and linear CNN on Sunday nights. Discovery+ and HBO Max Will Combine Into One Streamer Following Pending Merger

TV Upfronts

Warner Bros Discovery Wants to Be as Big as the Broadcasters in First Upfront

The company explains how its WarnerMedia and Discovery portfolios will be combined—and sold

Mollie Cahillane

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Mollie Cahillane