What the Warner Media-Discovery Deal Means Moving Forward

The streaming wars have led to one giant bending the knee and taking an offer from one of the bigger warlords. AT&T is reportedly in a deal to merge Warner Media with Discovery as the telecommunications giant continues its battle against the likes of Netflix and Disney.

Discovery seemed like the low man on the totem pole when it came to the streaming wars. They have a wide array of content and many were stunned when they chose going with their own streaming platform over combining with another company with larger resources. After just a few months, it seems that Discovery will forgo going alone into battle with their own platform and will need the help of the biggest boss in town.

It’s a mystery to see what is necessarily the next step for Discovery. They can continue with their own platform and have Warner Media financially back it. Or they can collect licensing money by providing their content to Warner Media’s HBO Max for a larger fee. The latter seems like the best option for both parties. However, the question now becomes whether or not we’ll see any additional cannibalization. Don’t be surprised if we see something similar with ViacomCBS. They also came to the party late and have lagged behind its competitors. They were expected to also combine with a larger player before going out on their own. Before they strike out, they should copy Discovery’s playbook before it’s too late.