Warner cable revamp could see HBO reruns head to TBS, TNT - report
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A shift to cable programming at Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) could see drama reruns from HBO and HBO Max head to the company's cable channels in a bid to boost their popularity amid increasing costs, Insider reported.
Amid ever-growing sports rights costs - and rumors that WBD's Turner Sports might respond by fully taking over the TBS or TNT channels - the company is looking at using its sports viewership to boost interest in second-run programming, according to the report.
That would include shows from Warner and HBO libraries, potentially including The Sopranos, Hacks, Succession, The Flight Attendant, and/or unscripted content from the Discovery library. The company acknowledged working on a "refreshed" roadmap for TBS and TNT.
It would mark the latest of many changes that have piled up after new boss David Zaslav took over the WarnerMedia/Discovery combination in the spring.
Zaslav set a goal of achieving $3B in cost-saving synergy from the merger - a goal that has resulted in job and division cuts so far - and, particularly to the cable channels, in April the company halted original content development for TBS and TNT.
WBD is looking to preserve the cable bundle alongside boosting HBO Max ahead of a new combined streaming app to come in summer 2023. It's another signal that Zaslav isn't as all-in on streaming as big media rivals.
"Our streaming strategy has evolved over the past year, and really reflects the importance of - rather than the dependence on - this segment of our global content monetization plans," he said on WBD's August earnings call.