Warner Bros. Discovery has announced that it will split into two publicly traded companies. WBD president and CEO David Zaslav announced the move, which is expected to be completed in 2026.

Under the current plan, Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, DC Studios, HBO, and HBO Max will form the Streaming & Studios company, helmed by Zaslav. Meanwhile, WBD’s linear and digital properties—including CNN, TBS, TNT, its sports media rights, Discovery, free-to-air channels across Europe, Discovery+ streaming service, and Bleacher Report—will form the Global Networks company run by WBD’s CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels.

Names for the new company will be announced at a later date.

“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 in a statement.

In an investor conference call on Monday, Wiedenfels indicated that the Global Networks company will have a 20% stake in the Studios & Streaming company and will inherit the majority of WBD’s existing debt.

The company announced in 2024 an internal corporate restructuring comprising two distinct operations of its businesses along these very lines. 

WBD’s move is similar to Comcast’s approach to its media properties. The company is in the final stages of spinning off the majority of its cable networks—including MSNBC and CNBC—into a separate entity known as Versant. 

For CNN specifically, this will be the network’s latest corporate restructuring in its 45-year history. In 1996, its original parent company, Turner Broadcasting, was acquired by TimeWarner. In 2001, AOL purchased TimeWarner in a famously turbulent merger.

WarnerMedia formed in 2018 after AT&T’s purchase of TimeWarner. And in April 2022 WarnerMedia combined with Discovery, creating Warner Bros Discovery.