The former Turner networks’ new parent will get a new name. Here it is.

Credit: Miguel Martinez
As it inches closer to a spinoff planned for 2026, Warner Bros. Discovery has announced the names of the divisions housing its Atlanta-based Turner networks and its larger studio and streaming operations.
The networks’ division, previously dubbed “Global Networks,” will be rechristened “Discovery Global,” according to a press release from WBD. Led by WBD’s chief financial officer Gunnar Wiedenfels, it will include WBD’s entertainment, sports and news television brands, including CNN, TNT Sports, TCM and Cartoon Network.
WBD’s streaming and studio arm will be named simply “Warner Bros.” The division will include WBD’s film and television libraries, HBO Max and DC Studios, among other entities, and will be led by current WBD CEO David Zaslav.
So continues the never-ending saga of name changes within WBD. Earlier this year, the company changed the name of its streaming service from “Max” back to “HBO Max,” two years after a splashy rebrand. Less than five years beforehand, WBD was Discovery Inc. and WarnerMedia. Before that, WarnerMedia was Time Warner.
WBD announced earlier this year it would split into two publicly traded companies in 2026.
The decision comes three years after Discovery completed its purchase of WarnerMedia from AT&T, creating a huge company spanning cable properties such as Turner mainstays CNN, TNT and Cartoon Network, as well as HBO and the storied Warner Bros. film and television studios. The goal: to have the scale of offerings to compete with streaming giants, at the cost of taking on more than $50 billion in debt.
But every year is like a dog year in the entertainment industry, with multiple rounds of industry-altering developments changing the way people create and consume media. WBD is having to adapt yet again to a period of generational disruption, and make strategic moves to pay down debt. WBD has lost about half its market valuation since the merger.
During a June news conference announcing the split, Zaslav said the two companies will be “better aligned with shareholders based on each business’ individual dynamics and growth prospects,” and will be more agile and more aggressive in pursuing growth.
WBD is saddling its networks division with an undisclosed, though significant, sum of WBD’s now $37 billion debt load. But Discovery Global will retain up to a 20% stake in the streaming division.
“Over the past several years, we have made important strides across the business, launching and investing in a profitable, global streaming service and reinvigorating our studios to return them again to an industry leading position,” Zaslav said in the news release announcing the new names and leadership.
“With our unmatched portfolio of storytelling IP coupled with our incredible creative partners, and now an executive team of proven, bold, and committed creative and corporate leaders, we are in a strong position to launch and continue to meaningfully grow a company worthy of our storied past.”