Warners Spinoff: Haters Gonna Hate, Hate, Hate, Hate, Hate
While the split for WBD was anticipated, suddenly everyone is a critic.
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It's Monday, June 9th. Here's what's happening.
🍿 The Big Picture (aka Eric's Editorial)
Warner Bros. formally announced their plan to spin off their legacy cable and television (non-streaming) business into a new company today. The basic idea is to cast off their sports programming (TNT), their news division (CNN), and their free-to-air channels in Europe into a separate business. The company, tentatively called Global Networks, will be helmed by WBD CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels.
WBD's stock initially soared on the news, but by late afternoon, the market's enthusiasm had faded. The stock eventually closed down 2.9%. The breakup is an accountant's dream, as they try to wrangle and divvy up the debt tied to the media conglomerate.
Clearly, WBD has been searching for a new direction ever since David Zaslav took the helm. His attempt to build the company into a Netflix rival failed. Haters have been quick to pounce on what is considered to be the stock's underperformance. Many like to take shots at Zaslav (the shareholders of WBD roundly rejected his pay package in a recent vote), but at least he's aggressively trying to create shareholder value.
The current M&A climate is not good (just ask Shari Redstone and David Ellison), so this move may be the only viable option, besides making great movies and compelling TV. The company moves are still being decided, and the leadership roles are still tentative, but it looks like the plan is to strip off the legacy assets and provide Warner Bros. Studios and HBO Max a clear runway for growth. But, as the boxer Mike Tyson once said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
🎥 Extra Coverage
Warner Bros. Discovery's plans to split into two companies may also be widely seen as a strategic retreat from struggling linear TV and a setup for future sales, mergers, or restructuring. (IndieWire)
Paramount Global’s CFO Naveen Chopra is stepping down amid the still-pending FCC approval of its merger with Skydance, with former Discovery and NBCUniversal exec Andrew Warren stepping in as interim CFO during a turbulent time marked by leadership changes, legal challenges, and ongoing uncertainty around the company’s future. (Deadline)
Universal’s trailer for Wicked: For Good racked up an impressive 113 million views in 24 hours, surpassing the first film’s trailer and rivaling major hits like Barbie, as anticipation builds for the sequel. (Variety)
📈 MNP Stock Index
Market Close: Monday, June 9th, 2025
Total Value: $106,703.73
Today's Change: -$789.29 (-0.73%)
Total Gain/Loss (Since 05/12/25): $6,703.71 (6.70%)
A mixed day for the MNP Stock Index, with no real rhyme or reason to the trends. The perfect example: the WBD split was received warmly at first, but the stock fell as soon as investors tried to parse the details. Who gets all the debt? Eventually investors decided to walk away and the stock closed down 2.95%. The always volatile Starz also fell today, down 6.93% but fellow streamer Roku closed up 1.39%.
Disclaimer: The MovieNewsPro Stock Index is a virtual index - there are no actual funds invested. Sector index total value dollar amounts are based on an initial hypothetical investment of $100,000 on May 12th, 2025. We are not licensed investment advisors and our information should not be used as investment advice. Invest wisely.
🏆 Film Festivals
Tribeca Film Festival, US - June 4-15
Lighthouse International Film Festival, US - June 4-8
Sydney Film Festival, Australia - June 4-15
Guadalajara International Film Festival, Mexico - June 6-14
Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Market, France - June 8-14
American Black Film Festival, US - June 11-15
Provincetown International Film Festival, US - June 11-15
DC/DOX Film Festival, US - June 12-15
Monte Carlo Television Festival, Monaco - June 13-17
Transilvania International Film Festival, Romania - June 13-22
Bentonville Film Festival, US - June 16-22
CineEurope, Spain - June 16-19
📺 Watch This Tonight
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
One of the greatest films of all time, and perhaps one of the heaviest to watch. Everyone has their favorite version, but we prefer the original theatrical release.
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Disclaimer/Transparency
MovieNewsPro is a film industry news monitoring service. All stories have been previously reported elsewhere and are not exclusive stories to MNP. All information is believed to be accurate at the time of reporting. MovieNewsPro uses a full array of technology to gather information, including machine learning, automation and artificial intelligence throughout its business monitoring, editing and reporting process.
