‘Warner Bros. Discovery’ is the new name of the combined WarnerMedia and Discovery media assets. David Zaslav, CEO of Discovery, made the announcement today from the Historic Warner Bros. Lot in Burbank, CA. Discovery says the “Warner Bros. Discovery name will honor, celebrate and elevate the world’s most-storied creative studio in the world with the high quality, global nonfiction storytelling heritage of Discovery.”
The new logo has a heavy nod to the Warner Bros. Pictures logo of 1934. In addition, the logos of 1948, 1953 and 1984-2019. Those all featured the gold and blue WB shield over blue sky with clouds. However, the 1930s version was still in the black and white era of filmmaking.
Kelsey McKeon of Visual Objects recently did a great job looking at the Warner Bros. logo over the years. DellFan Productions shared a video in 2019 showing the evolution of Warner Bros. logos:
Fast forwarding back to today’s announcement:
“Warner Bros. Discovery will aspire to be the most innovative, exciting and fun place to tell stories in the world – that is what the company will be about. We love the new company’s name because it represents the combination of Warner Bros.’ fabled hundred year legacy of creative, authentic storytelling and taking bold risks to bring the most amazing stories to life, with Discovery’s global brand that has always stood brightly for integrity, innovation and inspiration. There are so many wonderful, creative and journalistic cultures that will make up the Warner Bros. Discovery family. We believe it will be the best and most exciting place in the world to tell big, important and impactful stories across any genre – and across any platform: film, television and streaming.”
David Zaslav, President and CEO of Discovery and the future CEO of the proposed Warner Bros. Discovery combined company
“The stuff that dreams are made of”
The logo includes an iconic line from the Maltese Falcon: “the stuff that dreams are made of.” Discovery stated this is an homage to the “rich legacy” of Warner Bros. Furthermore, it is an indication of what the new company will focus on.
Zaslov’s dream is to combine WarnerMedia’s “premium entertainment, sports and news assets” with Discovery’s “leading nonfiction and international entertainment and sports businesses to create a single company.”
WARNER MEDIA + DISCOVERY FACT BOX
* Warner Media properties include: HBO, Warner Bros., CNN, WB Games, DC, Cartoon Network, TNT, TBS, Adult Swim
* Discovery properties include: Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, HGTV, Food Network
* The combined company will own a library with nearly 200,000 hours of "iconic programming" and over 100 of the most cherished brands.
Accelerating both firms’ direct-to-consumer streaming services is a key goal. Furthermore, Discovery believes the combined entity will also be able to accomplish the following:
- Increase investment and capabilities in original content and programming
- Create more opportunity for under-represented storytellers and independent creators
- Serve customers with innovative video experiences and points of engagement
- Propel more investment in high-quality, family-friendly nonfiction content.
AT&T’s WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc. announced plans to merge last month.
