David Zaslav Outlines Warner Bros. Discovery’s ‘Focus on Financial Opportunities’ in Memo to Staff (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Selome Hailu Months before the Warner Bros. Discovery deal was completed, execs at the now-merged company promised to find $3 billion in synergy savings over the next three years.

In a new memo sent out to Warner Bros. Discovery staff and obtained by Variety, Zaslav began to elaborate on those plans.In a list of “near-term priorities,” Zaslav mentioned that the company would “focus on financial opportunities.”“As we build this new company, we need to be guided by data and insights to understand what’s working and what’s not,” the memo reads. “It’s also important that we work more collaboratively across businesses so that we’re able to be strategic in our decision-making and best serve consumers across all platforms.

This will enable us to achieve a more efficient and impactful organization and a stronger business overall.” To accomplish that goal, WBD has “hand-selected a broad group of [staff’s] peers who are leading and contributing to a range of workstreams underway.” Chief transformation officer Simon Robinson leads this team.WBD has already made major cost-cutting decisions in the month since the merger completed.

Case in point: the shutdown of CNN+, which Variety exclusively reported on April 21, two weeks post-merger. Zaslav’s words indicate more big changes to come.The memo also outlines plans for Upfronts, combining HBO Max and Discovery+, bolstering CNN, “establish[ing] a new WBD culture” and “invest[ing] in creative engines.”View the memo in full below:We’ve officially passed the 30-day mark as Warner Bros.