Overview
- Warner Bros. Discovery, which opened its annual Upfront at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, began with Anderson Cooper’s tribute to CNN founder Ted Turner, who died last week at 87.
- CNN announced a new CNN Weather app launching this week, a planned wellness vertical, an international rollout of its All Access subscription later this year, a refreshed CNN Business, and more live events.
- Executives acknowledged ongoing consolidation as WBD pursues a merger with David Ellison’s Paramount, and reporting from the event noted the company scrapped plans to spin off its cable networks.
- The presentation highlighted ad opportunities across sports, films, and series, featuring NHL on TNT, Shaquille O’Neal’s Dunkman league, teases of new Gremlins and Oceans films, updates on Minecraft Movie 2, and remarks from M. Night Shyamalan about Remain.
- Turner-era networks such as CNN, TNT, and TBS anchored the pitch to buyers, underscoring how those brands still carry the company’s sales story even as its structure shifts.