Warner Bros. Discovery is negotiating the sale of about half of the studio’s music, publishing, film and television assets Warner for about 500 million dollars, as confirmed by three sources to Variety. The news was first reported by Hits.
While it’s unclear exactly which assets are at stake, a source says the rights to “slightly less than half” of the catalogue, priced at around 500 million dollarsthey will probably be sold to a big record label, and it is said that sony is leading the negotiation. The catalog is believed to include music from films such as “Purple Rain“, “Avoid“, “Sweeney Todd“, “Rent” and several films of “Batman“, among other titles, as well as songs included in films such as”As Time Goes By” of “White House” – iconic titles, but again, it’s unclear exactly what rights are at stake. Prominent attorney Allen Grubman is said to be overseeing the deal on behalf of the CEO of Warner DiscoveryDavid Zaslav.
However, some observers are skeptical of the deal, pointing out that many of the company’s assets are more than half a century old and “in decline” in value and difficulty in exploiting them. They are said to consist largely of movie themes and tracks, with relatively few mainstream songs, which would seem to have little familiarity or resonance in the present or future. The catalog is currently under a multi-year management agreement with Universal Music Publishing.
Representatives of Warner DiscoverySony and Universal declined or did not respond to requests for comment.
If the reports are accurate, this deal would be a welcome one for the company and its investors at a tumultuous time that includes a writers’ strike that has brought Hollywood to a standstill and 100 layoffs at the Discovery and Turner brands (with more expected in the coming months), however. Mention the recent firing of Chris Licht, Zaslav’s handpicked CNN CEO, after just one year, and the network’s controversial meeting with former President Donald Trump.
Proceeds from this sale, amid a booming music catalog market, would help the company pay off $49.5 billion in debt.
The report also comes at a time when the environment for the television industry is changing dramatically. Domestic cable channels, including discovery, T.N.T., TBS, FTA, hgtv, Food Network and CNN, used to be envied in terms of audience and profitability. But rapid change in the pay-TV market and the rise of on-demand streaming have upended the earning power of cable TV that made the former Time Warner a powerhouse in the 1990s and 2000s.
Via: Variety
Editor’s note: Warner is selling everything and it sounds worrisome, but if you look at what’s up for sale, they’re very old assets that probably aren’t making much of any money for the company. Even so, the writers’ strike is pending and the consequences that it may continue to bring if it is not resolved.
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