Warner Bros. discovery has announced a round of layoffs affecting several dozen positions within its cable TV channels. The move, confirmed by an unnamed executive, is a response to declining cable TV revenues due to the increasing trend of cord-cutting.

The announcement follows similar actions taken by The Walt Disney Co., which recently implemented meaningful staff reductions across its film and television marketing teams, television publicity, casting, development, and corporate operations. The Disney cuts impacted hundreds of employees.

According to reports, the layoffs at Warner Bros. Discovery will not affect the company’s movie and TV production studios or its streaming service, which is slated to revert to its original name, HBO Max.

Warner bros. Discovery is reportedly considering a potential spinoff of its cable TV assets,including the Turner channels,Discovery Networks,HGTV,and Food Network. This mirrors a similar strategy by Comcast, which is separating its NBCUniversal cable outlets (excluding Bravo) into a new entity called Versant to focus on streaming.

Warner Bros. Discovery Reorganizes Amidst Financial Pressures

Warner Bros. Discovery recently reorganized into two business units and took a $9.1 billion writedown last year to account for the decreasing value of its TV networks.

Almost 60% of the votes cast came in against the 2024 executive pay package.

The company’s financial performance has faced scrutiny, highlighted by a recent nonbinding shareholder vote against the 2024 compensation package for Chief Executive David Zaslav and other executives.

Cord-Cutting and the Future of Cable TV

The layoffs and potential spinoff reflect the ongoing challenges faced by traditional cable TV networks as consumers increasingly shift to streaming services. The trend of cord-cutting has accelerated in recent years, forcing media companies to adapt thier business models.