Another round of layoffs at DC

[Godlike13]

Not sure there will be necessarily more layoffs, as with this new company there might be less pressure from share holders to shed assets. Now that this new company is solely a media company they can focus solely on that. Kind of a shame AT&T sold Crunchyroll before they did this, cause an Anime foothold like that would have been a big boon to this new media company.

[iron chimp]

sounds utterly shambolic to me.

[Veni]

Not sure there will be necessarily more layoffs, as with this new company there might be less pressure from share holders to shed assets. Now that this new company is solely a media company they can focus solely on that. Kind of a shame AT&T sold Crunchyroll before they did this, cause an Anime foothold like that would have been a big boon to this new media company.

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/new...hyroll/.171049

[Pinsir]

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/new...hyroll/.171049

Hahaha, this is pretty funny. I would like it if Crunchyroll was on HBO Max, though I would like it more if HBO Max was in my country....

[Comic-Reader Lad]

I'm seeing some posts here where people seem to be under the impression that Discovery is buying WarnerMedia (and therefore, DC). This is not the case. The assets of WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc. are being merged and this new, combined company will be spun off from AT&T.

Here's some info on CORPORATE SPINOFFS (a type of Divestiture) from Investopedia:

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/spinoff.asp

Why Would a Company Initiate a Spinoff?
The main reason for a spinoff is that the parent company expects that it will be lucrative to do so. Spinoffs tend to increase returns for shareholders because the newly independent companies can better focus on their specific products or services. A company may conduct a spinoff to focus its resources and better manage the division that has more long-term potential, or if a portion of the business is headed in a different direction and has different strategic priorities from the parent company, or if it has been looking for a buyer to acquire that segment of its business but failed to find one.

How Is a Spinoff Done?
A corporation creates a spinoff by distributing 100% of its ownership interest in that business unit as a stock dividend to existing shareholders. It can also offer its existing shareholders a discount to exchange their shares in the parent company for shares of the spinoff. For example, an investor could exchange $100 of the parent’s stock for $110 of the spinoff’s stock. The spin off will have a separate management structure and a new name, but it will retain the same assets, intellectual property, and human resources. The parent company will continue to provide financial and technological support in most cases.

What Are the Disadvantages of a Spinoff?
The downside of a spinoff is that its share price can be more volatile and can tend to underperform in weak markets and outperform in strong markets. Spinoffs can also experience high selling activity; shareholders of the parent may not want the shares of the spinoff they received because it may not fit their investment criteria. The share price may dip in the short term because of this selling activity, even if the spinoff’s long-term prospects are positive.

[transformers03]

I'm seeing some posts here where people seem to be under the impression that Discovery is buying WarnerMedia (and therefore, DC). This is not the case. The assets of WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc. are being merged and this new, combined company will be spun off from AT&T.

Here's some info on CORPORATE SPINOFFS (a type of Divestiture) from Investopedia:

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/spinoff.asp

I think a lot of anxiety comes from the fact that mergers usually lead to more layoffs, and we fans don't know how that will directly influence DC, especially since DC suffered a large number of lay-offs last year.

The hope is that the merger would stabilize Warner's Media after several years of being run a conglomerate that had no idea how entertainment media worked. Since Discovery is not as in debt as AT&T is currently and the fact that Warner will still be in charge of most DC-related media, there should hopefully not be any major changes outside of management and whatnot. Again, that's the hope.

[Robotman]

I’m curious what this means for WB video game division. AT&T was reportedly about to put its games division up for sale in 2020 to cover some of their massive debt, before changing their mind at the last minute. I’m hoping this means that Rocksteady, TT Games, WB Games Montreal, and NetherRealm are still safe. The Arkham and Injustice games have been one of the few bright spots for DC in the past 15 years or so.

[Vordan]

I’m curious what this means for WB video game division. AT&T was reportedly about to put its games division up for sale in 2020 to cover some of their massive debt, before changing their mind at the last minute. I’m hoping this means that Rocksteady, TT Games, WB Games Montreal, and NetherRealm are still safe. The Arkham and Injustice games have been one of the few bright spots for DC in the past 15 years or so.

I would not shed any tears if NRS got bought by MS or whoever and the Injustice franchise came to an end. Last word we heard was that some of the studios will go under the new company and some will remain with AT&T who will likely sell them off to interested buyers.

[Samm]

I would not shed any tears if NRS got bought by MS or whoever and the Injustice franchise came to an end. Last word we heard was that some of the studios will go under the new company and some will remain with AT&T who will likely sell them off to interested buyers.

That would be stupid considering it would mean WB loses the rights to Mortal Kombat and whether some fans want to admit it or not, Injustice has been a huge success, up there with the Arkham games!

Netherrealm, Rocksteady and WB Montreal are the big ones who should stay with the new company

[Robotman]

That would be stupid considering it would mean WB loses the rights to Mortal Kombat and whether some fans want to admit it or not, Injustice has been a huge success, up there with the Arkham games!

Netherrealm, Rocksteady and WB Montreal are the big ones who should stay with the new company

The recent Mortal Kombat movie was godawful but apparently it brought in huge numbers. Samba TV reported that HBO Max posted its most viewed weekend premier ever when the movie was released garnering 3.8 million U.S. households. That franchise is a cash cow and they’d be very stupid to get rid of it.

[Celgress]

One of my friends gives his thoughts about the current state of DC Comics. He also discusses the pros & cons of a fantasy world in which Disney/Marvel eventually acquires some or all of DC's characters -

[Veni]

How DC Has Weathered Corporate Change Before

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/mo...ry-1234954536/

[transformers03]

How DC Has Weathered Corporate Change Before

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/mo...ry-1234954536/

The article didn't provide any new insight, at least to me it didn't, which in fairness this article was probably written for people not in the known.

I find it a little bit upsetting that the discourse about the Warners Bros and Discovery merger potentially affecting comics has essentially settled down, with no new insights. But, in the end, it makes sense. Until the merger becomes official, even then probably a few months out after that, no one knows anything. With the merger not becoming official until a year out, the comics will probably continue as it has been the last few months as if nothing happened.

Based on the reactions of several business analysts I've read on social media and in published articles, most of the discussion stemmed from how incompetent AT&T was with handling Warner Bros. With an estimated lay-off number of possibly 50,000 employees, AT&T's attempts to make it in the entertainment industry was a colossal failure of epic proportion, to put it mildly. That high number of lay-offs makes you wonder who's left for Discovery to use in their own ambitions schemes for streaming, as well as who is left to be fired that always happens in every merger.

Though it's hard to justify two big corporations merging into one bigger company as a "good" thing, most analysts agree that the CEOs and owners of Discovery will be far more competent leaders with Warner than AT&T ever were. Despite their lack of experience with scripted television and movies, Discovery has a much stronger understanding of what streaming is and is already planning to throw billions in investments (some reports claiming they plan to spend 20 billion on creating new media). Not being in an absurd amount of debt is also a plus for Discovery. There will definitely be some growing pains, and several projects will most likely get canceled during the early days, yet there is a sense of optimism for Warner Media now that they are being owned by a company that seems to know what they are doing.

Unfortunately, none of that has anything to do with comic books.

It is assumed that Discovery is going to invest heavily in DC Comics, though undoubtedly none of that investment will probably reach the comics directly. Based on the early info, it does appear that Warner Bros will continue to be in charge of the brands they own, like DC Comics. So unless Discovery completely changes Warner Bros internally, which could still happen, not much should change within the company itself. They would just be under new, and hopefully better, management. Some have speculated a similar sense of optimism about the comics as they do with the films and TV, as just like film and TV, the comic books will no longer be under the thumbs of conglomerates that lacked the knowledge of how the entertainment industry worked. If the comics were able to survive the onslaught of AT&T (and much earlier, AOL), certainly they can survive sharing a condo in Flavortown with Guy Fieri. This venture could even lead to new hilarious crossovers, like Fieri taking a visit to Batburgers or, as mentioned by Julia Alexander, Shark Week hosted by King Shark.

At least that's the hope.

EDIT: I don't think I made it clear, but I want to emphasize that I don't DC will stop making comics. I don't think the merge with Discovery is indicative of the comic books being in danger.

[Pinsir]

One of my friends gives his thoughts about the current state of DC Comics. He also discusses the pros & cons of a fantasy world in which Disney/Marvel eventually acquires some or all of DC's characters -

More proof that people want DC to be bought out by Disney!

[captchuck]

I'm guessing that DC Comics is beneath Discovery's attention at this point. The first article I read on this merger was on The Guardian, and they didn't even mention DC Comics or Batman or Superman. They did mention "Friends" and "Big Bang Theory". I thought this was a bad sign as they also mentioned layoffs.