WBD, the owner of TNT Sports, Discovery+, HBO and Freeview channels including Quest and Food Network is to split up. That means changes are coming to some TV and streaming services.
- Streaming services HBO Max and Discovery+ will end up with different owners and will continue to operate concurrently.
- HBO Max becomes home of premium sport from WBD’s international sports channels outside of the USA.
- Separation set to unpick three years of services coming together.
Just three years after the company was created in a mega-merger, Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) is to split in two. The split should be completed by the middle of next year, which will leave some TV and streaming services in the UK and Ireland under different ownership.
In an announcement to investors on Monday, WBD confirmed it was splitting its business into ‘Streaming & Studios’ and ‘Global Networks’. Last year, it had already indicated it wanted to split the business. Back then there was talk of WBD remaining a parent company of both entities. However, media analysts now expect the separated businesses to be the subject of takeover bids, meaning they could ultimately be owned by totally different organisations. Global Networks will retain a 20% share in Streaming & Studios.
It means HBO and HBO Max will sit alongside DC Studios and Warner Bros Motion Studios Group in the new ‘Streaming & Studios‘ business. Meanwhile, traditional TV services like the Freeview channels Quest and Really plus pay TV network Discovery Channel will join streaming service Discovery+ in splitting away to the new ‘Global Networks‘ business (final name to be confirmed).
The split will start to unpick three years of activity that’s seen WBD consolidate streaming services and channels. This is how it’s likely to affect Freeview viewers, pay TV subscribers and Discovery+ users…
Two companies, two streaming services
All change after the WBD split! HBO Max was to be the all-in-one service that brought together traditional TV brands and Hollywood content in one single streaming service.
The announcement confirms Discovery+ will stick around indefinitely under a different set of owners to HBO Max.
Previously, HBO Max was due to replace Discovery+, as it has already done in parts of Europe. WBD had previously been busy consolidating its different streaming brands. You may recall that this has already meant the end of Dplay, Golf TV and Eurosport Player in favour of Discovery+. The next logical step was to eventually combine Discovery+ with HBO Max to create a super-streamer.
In summary:
- The Global Networks business will continue to operate Discovery+
- The Streaming & Studios business will operate HBO Max.
What about sport, including TNT Sports and Discovery+?
All of WBD’s international sports offering (i.e. services offered outside of the USA and associated sports rights) will go to Streaming & Studios, which includes HBO Max.
Meanwhile, TNT Sports in the USA as well as Discovery+ (in countries where it operates in) goes to Global Networks.
Following WBD’s announcement this week, a spokesperson for the company confirmed to RXTV that in the UK and Ireland, TNT Sports will be available on HBO Max from 2026.
Once live, HBO Max will provide subscribers with live coverage from the Premier League, Roland-Garros tennis and the Olympics, alongside top HBO entertainment content.
How and when this will affect current Discovery+ subscribers was sadly not confirmed.
We’re likely to get more information once full details of HBO Max’s UK/Ireland launch are published. HBO Max will be widely available, including on Sky. WBD has been in talks with Virgin Media and EE about making HBO Max available on their platforms.
Ongoing cooperation
WBD’s split may sound a bit like a divorcing couple, with possessions being divided up. On that subject, WBD has confirmed that commercial agreements will be in place to support any areas where the two companies might still need to work together on.
That means it’s possible that HBO Max (in Streaming & Studios) may still feature content from channels owned by Global Networks. And Global Networks may still want to licence content from Streaming & Studios to show on its channels. However, such agreements will vary from country to country.
Sport
As previously mentioned, WBD’s international sports offering will soon sit in Streaming & Studios with HBO Max. But Discovery+, the current home of TNT Sports UK/Ireland, will sit under the new Global Networks business.
This is an example of where a commercial agreement will need to be in place between the two companies to manage this transition.
Other content
Meanwhile, in parts of Europe you can stream content that used to be on Discovery+ as well as CNN on Max. (Max will soon rebrand to HBO Max across Europe.) There will also need to be agreements in place for that to continue, as the Discovery Channel and CNN are going over to Global Networks.
Fortunately, HBO Max hasn’t launched in the UK and Ireland yet, so that problem doesn’t apply here.
Meanwhile, CNN is poised to launch another streaming service, initially in the US. This will also sit under Global Networks. Its old streamer, CNN+, was abruptly taken offline. In addition to its poor performance, the service didn’t sit with WBD’s old masterplan to consolidate all streaming activities under one single service. A masterplan that’s just gone out of the window.
Sky agreement
The WBD agreement with Sky includes both Discovery+ and HBO Max starting from April 2026. Sky subscribers will be able to access the ad-supported tier of both services.
After the two parts of WBD go their own ways, any subsequent agreements with Sky will be negotiated by each of the new companies. That may result in separate agreements that could affect what is and what isn’t included with a Sky subscription.
That’s not likely to happen for some time. In the meantime, Sky subscribers can look forward to accessing both streaming services from 2026.
WBD Freeview channels
All of WBD’s Freeview channels are set to become part of the Global Networks business alongside similar services worldwide. WBD’s current set of traditional TV channels reach 1.1 billion unique viewers in 68 languages across 200 countries and territories.
This includes:
- Quest
- Quest Red
- Really
- Food Network
- HGTV
Notably sports will be part of the other side of the WBD business – Streaming & Studios. That’s relevant because WBD did promise that Quest would showcase a limited selection of sport from TNT Sports. That’s not guaranteed to continue once WBD’s international sports business goes to a different owner.
What happens after the WBD split?
The resulting two companies, which we’ve referred to here as Global Networks and Streaming & Studios, as per the official announcement, aren’t their final names. Global Networks is most likely to end up with its own distinct name.
Comcast, owner of NBC and Sky, announced a similar split, which is due to complete this year. This will see some of its networks including MSNBC and CNBC separating from the business that will still own all other NBC services. The split business has been named ‘Versant’.
As separate businesses, one or the other, or both could end up being taken over.
Services that were once part of a broadcasting family could end up carved up under the ownership of complete rivals.
Who will be in charge?
At the top of the business, David Zaslav, President and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, will serve as President and CEO of Streaming & Studios. Meanwhile, Gunnar Wiedenfels, CFO of Warner Bros. Discovery, will serve as President and CEO of Global Networks.
Both will continue in their present roles at WBD until the split is complete. WBD says the separation should be in place by mid-2026.
By: Marc Thornham | Image: WBD