JASON KILAR

Unlike WarnerMedia's last CEO, new chief David Zaslav is embracing movie theaters and traditional cable TV instead of taking a streaming-first attitude.

Investors got a big hint into Warner Bros. Discovery's strategy earlier this week when it announced it would shelve its straight-to-streaming DC film "Batgirl."

In a highly unusual move that has rattled Hollywood, Warner Bros.

Sorry, DC universe fans: the movie, which starred 'In The Heights' actress Leslie Grace in the title role, will not be released theatrically or on HBO Max.

The paltry number casts doubt on the future of CNN+ following the recently completed combination of Discovery and WarnerMedia

WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar will be stepping down from his role as the company's merger with Discovery nears its close.

A corporate executive says CNN's Allison Gollust committed violations of the company's standards and practices. Okay, but which ones?

CNN's parent company says its investigation into circumstances surrounding the firing of anchor Chris Cuomo and ouster of network chief Jeff Zucker is complete.

A second CNN executive is exiting the cable news network in the wake of an internal investigation.

The abrupt ouster of CNN chief executive Jeff Zucker because of a workplace relationship has left some prominent employees feeling angry and uncertain about the direction of their network at a pivotal moment.

CNN's Jake Tapper grills WarnerMedia CEO on 'perception' that Chris Cuomo 'blew the place up'

Several top WarnerMedia executives never liked the HBO Max name. Merging with Discovery will give the combined company a chance to change it.

Warner Bros. will bolster HBO Max next year with more than 10 new movie titles made exclusively for the streaming service.

Still wondering what “Integration Test Email #1” was all about? See the hilarious theories on social media, as well as the official answer from the streaming service.

WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar is reportedly eyeing an exit after the announcement of the company's merger with Discovery — which he reportedly only found out about recently. Kilar has "hired a legal team to negotiate his departure" as chief executive of WarnerMedia, a job he has held for about a year, The New York Times reported on Monday. The news came only hours after AT&T said it would spin off WarnerMedia, which owns HBO, Warner Bros., CNN, and more, and merge it with Discovery to create a new standalone company run by Discovery CEO David Zaslav. The idea was that the combined company would be better positioned to compete against the likes of Disney and Netflix, and Discovery's brands include HGTV, Food Network, and Animal Planet. The deal is expected to be finalized next year. But Kilar, the Times reports, was "kept in the dark about the deal until recent days." Zaslav told reporters on Monday that he and AT&T CEO John Stankey had met "secretly" over the past few months. Kilar's name was not mentioned in the AT&T press release announcing the $43 billion deal, and the Times reports that when Kilar sent a memo to employees about the "momentous news," he didn't mention anything about his future at the company. Kilar took over as the head of WarnerMedia in May 2020 after previously serving as Hulu's CEO. HBO Max, the new WarnerMedia streaming service, launched later that month. Kilar's reported plans to exit were revealed only three days after The Wall Street Journal published a profile of him, which described how he has "led one of the most radical overhauls in the entertainment industry" and opened by saying, "Jason Kilar might have a career as a tour guide if this WarnerMedia chief executive gig doesn't work out for him." More stories from theweek.com7 scathingly funny cartoons about Liz Cheney's ousterThe U.S. still has stricter mask policies for kids than EuropeFormer child star Ricky Schroder apologizes to Costco worker 'if I hurt your feelings' after mask confrontation

AT&T is unwinding a huge part of its $84 billion acquisition of Time Warner, less than three years after it closed.Driving the news: AT&T this morning announced that it will merge its WarnerMedia properties with Discovery Inc.'s media assets.Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for freeAT&T's contributions will include cable networks CNN, TNN, TNT, Cartoon Network and HBO, plus streaming service HBO Max. Discovery's will include its Discovery-branded content, TLC, Food Network, Eurosport and its Discovery+ streaming service.The deal is expected to close in the middle of next year, via a joint venture that would have projected 2023 revenue of $52 billion and adjusted EBITDA of around $14 billion.The big winner is Elliott Management, the activist investor which last year took a $3.2 billion stake in AT&T and publicly argued that the Time Warner acquisition didn't make strategic sense.Elliott later signed a ceasefire with new AT&T CEO John Stankey, who agreed to spin off DirecTV via a deal with TPG Capital.There were reports in November that Elliott divested its AT&T stake, but my understanding is that it just sold off its small amount of common stock, but maintain most of its swaps. It subsequently purchased new common stock, to be reflected in a 13F being filed today.It does not appear that AT&T reached out to private equity firms to help buttress the deal.The big loser is former AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson. Not only were Time Warner and DirecTV his two biggest acquisitions, but his failed pursuit of T-Mobile triggered a massive termination fee that financially strengthened a smaller rival and arguably caused AT&T to sell off wireless spectrum.The big comp is Verizon, which also has a (relatively) new CEO who views networking as the crown jewel and content as a pricey distraction.The big note is how rushed this morning's announcement felt, despite some background insistence that it wasn't, per Axios media reporter Sara Fischer.They didn't announce the new company's name, instead saying they'll drop it "later this week."No disclosed decisions yet on if the two streaming services will be merged.Reporters had 30 minutes notice this morning of the Zoom call.No clarity on the future of WarnerMedia boss Jason Kilar, who was notably absent from the press release. Stankey simply said that Discovery CEO David Zaslav — who will run the new business — has lots of discussions ahead of him. The bottom line: Two things you can always count on after acquiring Time Warner are big controversy and big regrets.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.

The deal will see Harry Potter-maker Warner Bros. and Discovery take on Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon.

Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland,” won best picture Sunday at the 93rd Academy Awards, where the China-born Zhao also became just the second woman — and the first woman of color — to win best director.

WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar reaffirmed the studio's commitment to movie theaters, saying blockbusters will debut in cinemas before heading to streaming.

Warner Media CEO Jason Kilar is in the spotlight after AT&T increased its guidance for the growth of its streaming service. The company said on Friday that it expects HBO and HBO Max to grow from 61 million subscribers in late 2020 to between 120 million and 150 million subscribers worldwide by the end of 2025, up from its prior forecast of 75 million to 90 million. Kilar forecast that HBO Max will be one of three streaming giants to emerge, along with Netflix and Disney+, which passed 100 million subscribers earlier this month. The company hasn't yet decided which markets will include an ad-supported version. Kilar also said the ad-supported version of HBO Max will be actually more profitable than the traditional subscription service.

NEW YORK – The Walt Disney Co.’s streaming plans shifted into hyper speed Thursday, as the studio unveiled a galaxy’s worth of new streaming offerings including plans for 10 “Star Wars” series spinoffs and 10 Marvel series that will debut on Disney+. But Disney also kept its biggest films — including Marvel's “Black Widow," Pixar's “Luca,” a “Lion King” prequel — on course for theatrical release. Jenkins becomes the first woman to direct a “Star Wars” film. Among the “Star Wars” series are two spinoffs of “The Mandalorian,” set during the series' timeline: “Rangers of the New Republic” and “Ahsoka,” with Rosario Dawson. Seven Disney films topped $1 billion worldwide.

Don't expect other streaming services to follow suit — at least not yet. There are several reasons other media companies will be happy to watch WarnerMedia bust through the theatrical window without immediately following suit. HBO Max's higher ARPUWarnerMedia charges $14.99 per month for HBO Max. That means those streaming services would need even more people to sign up for their services to make up for lost box office revenue than HBO Max. Learning from HBO Max

AT&T's WarnerMedia added 4 million HBO Max signups since the end of the third quarter, chief executive John Stankey said Tuesday. HBO Max now has 12.6 million activated users, up from 8.6 million on Sept. 30, Stankey said during UBS' Global TMT conference. Stankey and WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar are aggressively stocking HBO Max with new content in an effort to get to 50 million U.S. subscribers, the streaming service's 2025 goal. He said while live news and sports won't initially be part of HBO Max, that decision could change when HBO Max subscribers roughly equal the number of traditional pay-TV households. WATCH: WarnerMedia CEO: 'Not at all' worried about the success of HBO Max

Instead, Stankey decided to use HBO as the centerpiece for a new mission: Build a true Netflix competitor, dubbed HBO Max. He is attempting to funnel all of the company's resources from cable, film, and HBO into HBO Max, as he told CNBC last year. "Jason's belief is — wrongly — if any piece of content available anywhere other than HBO Max, it cheapens HBO Max," said one recently departed executive. By pricing HBO Max the same as HBO, Stankey seemed to assume HBO users would simply switch to HBO Max over time. Then there's the confusing branding around HBO Max, which initially joined a plethora of similarly named services, including HBO, HBO Go, and HBO Now.

On Thursday, AT&T's WarnerMedia announced it would release its entire 2021 slate of films directly on HBO Max at the same time they hit theaters. Even if the move becomes permanent, Kilar doesn't believe that ending the theatrical window would spell doom for movie theaters. HBO Max will debut globally next year. The HBO Max decision -- which makes 17 movies available for no extra charge for subscribers -- is a much bigger step in the direction of putting streaming subscriber growth over all else. WATCH: Warner Brothers will release all of its 2021 films in theaters and HBO Max concurrently

The WarnerMedia moves follow similar restructurings at large traditional media companies including Disney and NBCUniversal. Here's Kilar's full memo, obtained by CNBC:This is a very painful email to write. Our journey entails continuing to excel in our large, core businesses while at the same time investing in emerging businesses where we have the opportunity to meaningfully delight customers. Today, we have arrived at a number of difficult decisions that are resulting in a smaller WarnerMedia team. Rather, our future is about inventing ever better ways to move the world through story … which entails embracing change.

The coronavirus pandemic will alter consumer behavior across the entire business landscape, AT&T President and COO John Stankey said Wednesday. "Not just AT&T, every company is going to see consumer behavior changes coming out of this event," Stankey told CNBC's Julia Boorstin. We're going to return to different business models," Stankey added on "Power Lunch." Stankey's comments came shortly after AT&T announced that Hulu co-founder Jason Kilar would take over as CEO of WarnerMedia on May 1. Stankey said he believes AT&T, with its diverse business units, is well situated to navigate a post-pandemic world.

AT&T is replacing WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey with Hulu co-founder Jason Kilar, the company announced Wednesday. WarnerMedia has been searching for a new CEO since AT&T elevated Stankey to chief operating officer in September. AT&T's executive shuffle on Wednesday puts Stankey in the best position to succeed Stephenson as CEO if Stephenson decides to step down after this year. Kilar's experience at Hulu gives him a solid background in streaming services as WarnerMedia seeks to compete with a bloated field of competitors. Kilar served as CEO of Hulu since founding the company in 2007 until 2013, according to the announcement.