Warner Brothers Discovery (WBD) is a global media and entertainment company that creates and distributes content across television, film, streaming and gaming. Its content brands include namesakes such as Warner Brothers and Discovery Channel and also HBO/Max, HGTV, Food Network, Oprah Winfrey Network, DC, CNN, TNT, TBS, TLC, Magnolia, Travel Channel, MotorTrend, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Cartoon Network and more.
Circle of competence
WBD is a conglomerate made up of Warner Brothers film and television studios, Turner Broadcasting, Scripps Network, HBO, DC Comics and more. All together, they have many content and distribution brands. You can think of the business as consisting of three segments: Studios, Networks and Streaming.
Studios
The studios business started with the original Warner brothers. They leveraged their literary backgrounds in both Hebrew and English languages to create high quality storytelling content. In addition, the original brothers were early to leverage the integration of sound into movies, which only used subtitles at the time.
The brothers early success allowed the company to attract talent and grow into an industry monster with a large presence in production studios. The studios are used to create proprietary content and third party content. Similar to an AWS model. Today, the studios segment has integrated the DC Comics content and is focused on making blockbuster hits, popular TV shows and hit games. Recent successes include Barbie, Dune, The Bachelorette and Hogwarts Legacy.
Networks
The networks segment basically consists of TV channels. The most popular and durable brands appear to be HGTV and Food Network but others have likely already seen their best years. WBD owns must have cable channels which the eldest generation and commercial customers such as hotels can’t do without.
Streaming
The streaming business consists of Max (think HBO) and Discovery+. WBD primarily uses Max to distribute content directly to consumers in exchange for monthly subscription fees. There has been great success in the past with shows such as Games of Thrones, Euphoria, and The Sopranos.
Moat
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