We hope everyone had a great Halloweekend! This week’s story takes us into the heart of Hollywood and into the middle of one of the most dramatic strategic pivots of the year. Warner Bros. Discovery, the media empire born from a blockbuster 2022 merger, is splitting itself in two. The company that once promised to redefine streaming and global entertainment now finds itself facing the same question it once asked of its rivals: what does survival look like when growth no longer guarantees success?

And to make things even more interesting Netflix is reportedly circling, exploring a potential bid for part of Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming business. For two decades, Netflix has been the disruptor; now, it might become the rescuer.

It’s a story about power, identity, and scale; and what it really means to last in an industry that reinvented itself faster than anyone imagined.

The story of Warner Bros. Discovery begins long before the merger. It begins with a family, the Warner brothers who founded their studio in 1923 and helped invent modern cinema. From the early talkies of The Jazz Singer to the golden age of Casablanca, Warner Bros. built a reputation for timeless storytelling and cultural impact. Over the decades, it became a symbol of Hollywood’s enduring magic: creativity, risk, and reinvention.

Meanwhile, across the decades, another kind of media company was forming. Discovery, Inc., founded in 1985, wasn’t about red carpets or superheroes, it was about real life. Discovery carved its niche in factual entertainment through channels like Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and HGTV, combining curiosity, learning, and comfort.

Both companies represented different eras of entertainment: Warner Bros. owned the world of scripted dreams; Discovery owned the real world of unscripted wonder.

Then came the streaming revolution. Netflix changed consumer behavior forever. Cable subscriptions collapsed, studios scrambled, and content became a numbers game. In that chaos, legacy media companies searched for the perfect merger, one big enough to fight the tech giants.

In 2022, AT&T spun off WarnerMedia and merged it with Discovery, forming Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). The result was a media giant valued at over $43 billion, controlling everything from HBO and CNN to DC Comics and Food Network. CEO David Zaslav called it “a new era for storytelling.” The ambition was clear: one platform, one empire, infinite content.

But ambition is a dangerous thing when integration becomes the story.

Fast-forward three years. The media landscape looks very different.

Streaming growth has slowed. Content costs have exploded. Ad revenue, once Discovery’s lifeline has weakened. Meanwhile, the global economy has cooled, and debt has become an anchor. Warner Bros. Discovery’s stock, once a symbol of media consolidation’s promise, has been under pressure.

Internally, the merger proved difficult. Integrating Discovery’s cost-driven culture with Warner’s creative legacy was like trying to mix water and oil. HBO’s premium storytelling often clashed with Discovery’s unscripted volume strategy. Layoffs, cancellations, and restructuring became routine.

By mid-2025, the company’s debt still hovered around $40 billion. Even with hits like The Last of Us and Barbie, Warner Bros. Discovery struggled to convince investors that its scale translated into stability.

In June 2025, CEO Zaslav announced the company would split into two separate entities. One focused on Studios & Streaming (home to HBO, DC, and Warner Bros. Pictures), and another focused on Global Networks & Lifestyle (including Discovery, TLC, and HGTV).

The decision stunned just about everyone in the industry. Just three years earlier, the merger had been hailed as the blueprint for survival. Now, the same company that had symbolized consolidation was voluntarily breaking itself apart.

Then, just as the dust began to settle, a new twist arrived: Netflix was reportedly exploring a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming division, the crown jewel of the empire.

It was the ultimate irony. The disruptor that caused Hollywood’s crisis now saw opportunity in the pieces left behind.

To outsiders, Warner Bros. Discovery’s breakup looks like defeat. But viewed through the lens of longevity, it’s a recalibration. A move born from necessity, not desperation.

For decades, media companies chased “scale.” The theory was simple: the more content you control, the more power you have. But in streaming, scale became a liability. More brands meant more complexity, more platforms, and more content competing for attention.

Warner Bros. Discovery was an empire of brands, but not a unified identity. HBO Max became Max, a rebranding that blurred what made HBO special. CNN’s struggles with digital transformation continued. The DC Universe, once envisioned as Warner’s answer to Marvel, never achieved consistent success.

The split reflects an acknowledgment that bigger isn’t always better. The networks division can operate profitably with lower costs and predictable cable revenue, while the studios division can focus on storytelling and global franchises without carrying the weight of cable infrastructure.

And Netflix’s rumored interest isn’t random. For Netflix, acquiring Warner Bros.’s studio assets would instantly expand its library and add production infrastructure, giving it both creative depth and physical scale. For Warner Bros. Discovery, selling could reduce debt and give both halves breathing room.

It’s a reminder that being built to last doesn’t mean staying whole. Sometimes survival requires subtraction.

For a century, the idea of “lasting” in business meant getting bigger. More products, more divisions, more markets. But as industries mature, growth often flips — what once made you strong starts to slow you down.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s story shows the danger of mistaking size for resilience. Integration, debt, and diversification are tools — not guarantees. A company can own the world’s greatest content and still struggle if the machine built to manage it is too complex to steer.

The lesson here is simple but universal:

Longevity isn’t about how well you can take the punches without shifting, it’s about how fast you can adapt.

Great companies last because they redefine themselves before the world does it for them. IBM shifted from hardware to cloud. Disney reinvented itself with streaming and parks. Ford rediscovered its roots in design and electrification.

For Warner Bros. Discovery, this moment could mark either a decline or a renaissance. If managed well, the split could free both halves to thrive on their own terms. If mishandled, it could signal the end of one of Hollywood’s most storied names.

In some ways, this story is poetic. Warner Bros., the studio that once pioneered synchronized sound, now faces the challenge of synchronizing with an era it helped create.

Streaming was supposed to democratize entertainment. Instead, it flooded the market with content and diluted attention. The irony is that legacy studios, built on patience and artistry, were better equipped for the long game yet found themselves competing on short-term metrics like monthly active users and churn rates.

Now, Warner Bros. Discovery is stepping back to rediscover what made it great in the first place: storytelling. If Netflix does make a move, it won’t just be acquiring a company, it will be buying a century of creative DNA.

And that’s the real message here:
Legacy still matters but only if you know how to evolve it.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s decision to split is less about failure and more about foresight. The merger once symbolized consolidation; now, the breakup symbolizes clarity. It’s a reminder that endurance sometimes looks like breaking apart before you break down.

In business, as in Hollywood, every act sets up the next one. For Warner Bros. Discovery, this may not be the final chapter, it may just be a rewrite.

That’s a wrap on this week’s Built to Last!

What do you think? Is Warner Bros. Discovery making the right move by splitting apart — or is this the end of an era? And what do you make of Netflix’s potential bid?

Reply to this email or comment on our latest post to share your thoughts. We might feature your take in next week’s edition.

Thanks for reading, sharing, and supporting Built to Last!

See you next week. Keep building things meant to last.

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