Warner Bros. Discovery
Acquisitions
3
Major Deals Covered
$57.6B
Disclosed Deal Value
Warner Bros. Discovery's largest disclosed acquisition here is WarnerMedia for $43B in 2022. This page covers 3 major deals from 2014 to 2022, each with its price where disclosed and the reason behind it.
| Company | Year | Price | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scripps Networks Interactive | 2018 | $14.6B | Discovery bought HGTV, Food Network, Travel Channel and related lifestyle networks. |
| WarnerMedia | 2022 | $43.0B | AT&T spun off WarnerMedia and combined it with Discovery, with AT&T receiving about $43 billion in cash, debt securities and retained debt. |
| Eurosport | 2014 | Undisclosed | Discovery Communications took a controlling 51 percent stake in Eurosport in 2014 and bought the rest from TF1 in 2015. |
2022
$43.0B
AT&T spun off WarnerMedia and combined it with Discovery, with AT&T receiving about $43 billion in cash, debt securities and retained debt.
Created Warner Bros. Discovery and gave it a heavy debt load.
WBD reported net losses from 2022 to 2024 before a $727M profit in 2025.
2018
$14.6B
Discovery bought HGTV, Food Network, Travel Channel and related lifestyle networks.
Expanded Discovery's unscripted lifestyle portfolio.
The Scripps networks remain part of WBD's Global Linear Networks segment and supply content to HBO Max and discovery+.
2014
Discovery Communications took a controlling 51 percent stake in Eurosport in 2014 and bought the rest from TF1 in 2015.
Eurosport gave Discovery a pan-European sports network and later the European rights to the Olympic Games.
Discovery reached full ownership in 2015.
Before the sale, WBD's plan centered on growing HBO Max internationally, rebuilding the film slate and DC under DC Studios, licensing its library, and managing linear networks for cash. In 2025 it planned to split into two companies (Streaming & Studios and Global Networks) before the board ran a sale process that ended with the Paramount Skydance agreement.
WBD earns money from three revenue types. Distribution revenue comes from HBO Max and discovery+ subscriptions and from fees that pay-TV distributors pay to carry its cable networks. Advertising revenue comes from linear networks such as TNT, TBS, CNN, Discovery and HGTV, plus ad-supported streaming tiers. Content revenue comes from theatrical film releases, television production and licensing, games, and consumer products. Streaming and Studios are the growth segments, while Global Linear Networks still produces large cash flow but is shrinking with cord-cutting.
In March 2018, Discovery acquired Scripps Networks Interactive for $14.6 billion in cash and stock, adding top-rated cable networks HGTV, Food Network, and Travel Channel to create an unscripted programming powerhouse.
In April 2022, AT&T completed the tax-free spin-off of WarnerMedia and merged it with Discovery, Inc., with AT&T shareholders receiving 71% of the new entity (Warner Bros. Discovery) and Discovery shareholders owning 29%.
Paramount Skydance agreed to acquire WBD for $31.00 per share in all-cash, representing an equity purchase price of approximately $77 billion and an enterprise valuation exceeding $107 billion.
In early 2026, WBD received an unsolicited, all-cash superior proposal from Paramount Skydance at $31 per share; WBD's board exercised its fiduciary out, terminating the Netflix agreement and paying a $2.8 billion breakup fee funded by Paramount Skydance.
Between 2012 and 2015, Discovery acquired 100% of Eurosport from TF1 Group for approximately €900 million, securing pan-European broadcast rights to the Olympic Games and Grand Slam tennis.
In 1996, Time Warner acquired Turner Broadcasting System for $7.5 billion, bringing Ted Turner's networks (CNN, TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network) and the Hanna-Barbera animation library into Time Warner.
In 2021, WarnerMedia sold mobile game studio Playdemic (makers of *Golf Clash*) to Electronic Arts for $1.4 billion in cash to pare down corporate debt ahead of the Discovery merger.
Launched in March 2022 by WarnerMedia under Jason Kilar for $300 million, CNN+ was abruptly shuttered by David Zaslav within weeks of the Discovery merger to avoid fragmented subscriber offerings.
To streamline costs and capture post-merger tax write-downs, WBD cancelled and shelved completed projects including the $90 million *Batgirl* feature film and *Scoob! Holiday Haunt*, taking over $3 billion in restructuring charges.
In 1989, Warner Communications acquired Lorimar-Telepictures for $1.2 billion, acquiring the historic Culver City studio lot (now Sony Pictures Studios) and a massive television catalog including *Dallas* and *The Waltons*.
The acquisition underwent in-depth reviews by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), and the European Commission, culminating in clearance following behavioral licensing commitments.
The combination unites Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures into the largest studio lot operator and content library owner in the world, with over 180 million combined streaming subscribers.
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