Warner Bros. Discovery is reportedly mulling a separation of its linear networks from its studio and streaming assets – a move that could see CNN spearhead a new, cable-centering company.

The talks, first reported by CNBC, come after a dip in share price from the conglomerate and a quarterly review that fell short of estimates.

Released Wednesday, the report showed revenue down 1 percent from the same span last year and net income down 62 percent

That’s causing a stir from investors, CNBC’s David Faber said – months after WBD CEO David Zaslav reportedly dismissed the move as a bad idea.

It also comes months after NBC parent Comcast announced it would spin off most of its cable networks into a separate company, after years of hindrance on its share price.

If WBD follows suit, properties like CNN, TNT, and TBS will no longer fall under its jurisdiction.

The new, yet-to-be announced firm would also being ripe for acquisition.

An official announcement may come in coming days, said Squawk Box’s David Faber.

Warner Bros. Discovery is reportedly mulling a separation of its linear networks from its studio and streaming assets – a move that could see CNN spearhead a new, cable-centering company

The talks, first reported by CNBC, come after a dip in share price from the conglomerate and a quarterly review that fell short of estimates. It would see properties like CNN, TNT, and TBS transferred to a new company. Pictured, the WBD broadcasting campus in Atlanta, Georgia

Alexander Sherman, CNBC’s media reporter, added how WBD has already retained bankers to work out options that include a potential separation of the company’s legacy assets from the its streaming and studio entities, such as Max.

‘What Warner Brothers is moving towards, though, is a split, and it’s become relatively clear to me from the many conversations that I’ve had that we could get some sort of an announcement in the not too distant future,’ Faber added on the air Thursday.

Sherman added how legacy media firms like Paramount Global and Comcast have wanted to change their asset mix for months, hence the former’s effort to merge with Skydance.

Comcast’s SpinCo spinoff serves as further proof, he said – before honing in on how Zaslav for months has been particularly adamant about the need for less regulations on mergers and acquisitions.

‘We just need an opportunity for deregulation, so companies can consolidate and do what we need to be even better,’ Zaslav told reporters at Allen & Co.’s annual Sun Valley conference last year.

He complained that the previous administration had stymied any chance of such deals, and pined for a more laissez-faire president.

Days later, The Financial Times reported WBD brass had drafted ‘a dramatic plan’ to split its digital streaming and studio ventures from its legacy media networks.

Zaslav dismissed the FT report as false. Four months later, Donald Trump won the US election.

Word of the talks comes months after WBD CEO David Zaslav reportedly dismissed the move as a bad idea. Days before, at a conference in July, the bigwig complained that the previous administration had stymied such deals

He openly pined for a more laissez-faire president, and months later, Donald Trump would win the election

Within days, reports emerged that CNN was set to commence a series of sweeping lay-offs – a forecast that came to fruition after Trump was sworn in

Within days, Puck reported CNN was planning a series of sweeping lay-offs – a forecast that came to fruition after Trump was sworn in.

Three days later, 200 staffers at CNN’s struggling TV division were provided pink slips.  

The firings were billed as just one stage of CNN CEO Mark Thompson’s long-in-the works restructuring plan for the WBD asset, which seeks to put emphasis on CNN’s digital imprint rather than the cable news channel.

In a statement issued that morning, Thompson warned that future is still unclear.

He also emphasized the fact that CNN is set to soon roll out a streaming service – one he said will feature its most well-known stars.

Since he was named CEO in 2023, CNN’s ratings have dropped more than 20 percent – now behind even MSNBC.    

The network, for years, was the top dog in terms of cable news – a distinction now held by Fox.

 Thompson honed in on this past pedigree when speaking about the layoffs with the New York Times, which he helmed for eight years.

Three days later, 200 staffers at CNN’s struggling TV division were provided pink slips. Pictured, CNN’s headquarters at Hudson Yards in Manhattan 

The firings were billed as just one stage of CNN CEO Mark Thompson’s long-in-the works restructuring plan for the WBD asset, which seeks to put emphasis on CNN’s digital imprint rather than the cable news channel 

‘SpinCo,’ a new company being spun off of Comcast with its cable channels, is the product of a similar maneuver taking place within 30 Rock that will see both MSNBC and CNBC part ways from NBCUniversal – while staying in the same building

‘In the end, this is about CNN being – as it has been in its history – an indispensable way in which many, many millions of people get their news,’ he said, billing CNN’s secretive streaming service as a potential replacement to TV. 

‘This is a moment where the digital story feels like an existential question,’ he continued. ‘If we do not follow the audiences to the new platforms with real conviction and scale, our future prospects will not be good.’ 

Thompson further warned staffers in the industry that the future of the network is digital – and that linear is clearly on the decline. 

The British media exec also advertised another digital venture set to come out of CNN’s camp later this year – a subscription product surrounding ‘lifestyle’ content.

A split, meanwhile, paves the way for a merger between two of the biggest media companies in the world – WBD and Comcast.

Such a maneuver could create a de facto sports channel empire – one that would include TNT, the Golf Channel, and USA Network, as well as a range of sports rights that includes the MLB and NHL postseasons and the English Premier League.

The split, still reportedly being considered, has yet to be solidified.