Even as in New Delhi yesterday, the All India Digital Cable Federation, a trade body of MSOs in India, released a report stating that unless urgent interventions are done, including regulatory, the future of cable TV looks bleak (subscriber base projected to shrink to about 80 million by 2030), few hours down the line several thousands of kms away in the US, Warner Bros Discovery announced the divorce of its loss-making cable TV business from the profitable film and streaming operations.

Warner Bros Discovery said it would split into two publicly traded companies, separating its studios and streaming business from its fading cable television networks as the parent of HBO and CNN looks to compete better in the streaming era.

The breakup announced yesterday is the latest sign of the great unraveling of decades of media consolidation that have created global conglomerates spanning content creation, distribution and, in some cases, telecommunications, a Reuters report stated.

It unwinds WarnerMedia and Discovery’s 2022 merger, giving the streaming and studios business more room to scale without being weighed down by the declining networks unit.

The new streaming-and-studios company will include Warner Bros, DC Studios and HBO Max — the crown jewels of WBD’s entertainment library. The networks unit, which will hold up to a 20 percent stake in its counterpart, will house CNN, TNT Sports and Bleacher Report, the Reuters dispatch added.

CEO David Zaslav will lead the streaming and studios unit after the breakup, while CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels will head the networks unit. The separation will be structured as a tax-free transaction and is expected to be completed by mid-2026.

“By operating as two distinct and optimized companies in the future, we are empowering these iconic brands with the sharper focus and strategic flexibility they need to compete most effectively in today’s evolving media landscape,” Zaslav said, according to the Reuters report.

Majority of the company’s debt would be held by the global networks company. Last week, about 59 percent of WBD shareholders voted against executive pay packages, including Zaslav’s $51.9 million 2024 compensation, at the annual shareholder meeting.

WBD had laid the groundwork for a sale or spin-off of its declining cable TV assets in December by announcing a separation from its streaming and studio operations.

The split comes as WBD tries to position its streaming service as a premium destination with titles such as ‘The Last of Us’ after initially betting that a blend of HBO dramas and Discovery’s lifestyle content would broaden its appeal.

It revived the HBO Max branding last month to aid the global expansion of its streamer that had about 122 million subscribers as of March and expects its subscriber base to exceed 150 million by the end of 2026. That would still trail Netflix’s more than 300 million subscribers and the combined 181 million subscribers of Disney+ and Hulu.

Some analysts said the breakup could set the stage for more deals in the media sector, pointing to Comcast’s plan to spin off most of its cable networks, including MSNBC and CNBC.

Zaslav has said he expects a more deal-friendly environment under a Trump administration. But during his first term, Trump repeatedly attacked CNN, and his Department of Justice moved to block the AT&T–Time Warner merger.