What's Going On With Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Thursday

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc WBD shares are trading lower Thursday as employees battled another round of firings this week, particularly in the cable-TV network.

The layoffs affected the company’s vast portfolio of cable-TV networks, including the Discovery Channel, Investigation Discovery, and the Food Network, CNBC reports.

The Turner Classic Movie channel saw a significant leadership shakeup.

The TCM network is known for classic films and a curated lineup of guest introductions, documentaries, and non-English-language movies. 

The shakeup at the network inspired Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav to reach out to top filmmakers — including Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and Paul Thomas Anderson for reassurance.

Scorsese, Spielberg, and Anderson added that Zaslav contacted them regarding the restructuring of TCM, adding that they each spent time talking with the CEO, individually and as a group.

Also, Warner Bros. Discovery is discussing licensing HBO titles to rival Netflix, Inc NFLX.

Reportedly, Netflix will stream the select library of HBO titles on a non-exclusive basis. 

The first show WBD will license to Netflix is the hit comedy series “Insecure.”

The merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery in 2022 created an extensive portfolio of cable-TV networks as many consumers opted for streaming services.

Warner Bros. Discovery has been grappling with a hefty debt load stemming from the merger and has been weighing options to lower its costs. It recently rebranded its flagship streaming service as Max, combining its Discovery+ and HBO Max content.

Price Action: WBD shares traded lower by 1.94% at $12.14 on the last check Thursday.