2 days ago
Who Is Gunnar Wiedenfels? WBD's Cost-Cutting Finance Exec Picked as CEO of New TV Networks Spin-Off Comprising CNN, TBS, TNT, Discovery+ and More
Warner Bros. Discovery doesn't have a name for its planned stand-alone TV-centric biz, but it does have a proposed CEO: Gunnar Wiedenfels, WBD's iron-fisted money manager.
As CFO at Warner Bros. Discovery, Wiedenfels has been the face of the cost-cutting that has ensued since David Zaslav and the Discovery gang took the reins of the merged Discovery-WarnerMedia in Burbank in April 2022. As such, Wiedenfels often been the focus of frustration among employees in his role as the instigator of belt-tightening and other massive changes including a series of layoffs.
More from Variety
Did David Zaslav's Grand Vision Fail? As WBD and Other Media Giants Move Pieces Around, They Can't Outrun the Cable Math
Warner Bros. Discovery Split: What Will Happen to the Movie Studios, HBO Max, Cable Networks and Other Businesses?
Warner Bros. Discovery to Split Into Two Companies
Indeed, the compensation committee of WBD's board of directors praised Wiedenfels' cost-reduction prowess in explaining why the CFO deserved a $4.8 million cash bonus for 2024. The exec '[d]elivered $1.8 billion in costs savings and integration synergies in 2024 while developing a pipeline for additional synergy capture in future years,' the committee said, per the company's most recent proxy statement.
Wiedenfels, 47, is a native of Germany who studied business informatics at the University of Mannheim and received a PhD from RWTH Aachen University. He started his career at McKinsey & Co. in Hamburg in 2004. In 2009, he joined ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE in Munich, where he spent nearly eight years in executive management roles including as CFO.
In 2017, Wiedenfels made the move to New York to be CFO of Discovery Inc. under Zaslav before becoming the chief financial officer of the merged Warner Bros. Discovery. In 2024, Wiedenfels had a compensation package totaling $17.1 million, flat with the year prior. That included base salary of $2.1 million, stock awards worth $8.3 million, stock options valued at $1.75 million, $4.8 million in a cash bonus under the long-term incentive plan and $61,344 in other comp (including $16,877 for the company's 'Olympics Hospitality Program' and $17,601 for reimbursement of tax liabilities associated with the Olympics Hospitality Program).
According to WBD, Wiedenfels was 'a key architect of Discovery's agreement with AT&T to create a premier, standalone global entertainment company' in Warner Bros. Discovery.
And now Wiedenfels will be a key architect of dismantling the media conglomerate.
The WBD Global Networks company will largely comprise WBD's U.S. general and lifestyle entertainment networks including TNT, TBS, Turner Classic Movies, OWN, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim. It also will house CNN, including the news network's forthcoming subscription streaming service, as well as the Discovery+ streaming service and TNT Sports' U.S. operations including Bleacher Report.
SEE ALSO:
Wiedenfels, in a statement Monday, said the new yet-to-be-named TV spin-off will now have the latitude to 'pursue important investment opportunities' and potentially 'drive shareholder value.' After the split, expected to occur by mid-2026, both legacy WBD and the new company will be 'free and clear' for M&A, he said.
Wiedenfels outlined the goals for WBD's cable TV spin-off company this way: 'At Global Networks, we will focus on further identifying innovative ways to work with distribution partners to create value for both linear and streaming viewers globally while maximizing our network assets and driving free cash flow,' he said in a press release.
In the absence of M&A, can 'WBD Global Networks' achieve growth on the top or bottom lines? In 2024, the company's networks segment generated $20.18 billion in revenue (down 4%) and adjusted earnings came in at $8.15 billion (down 10%). So as a whole, it still throws off a ton of cash — but, in the lingo of Wall Street, it's a shrinking ice cube.
Most of WBD's $34 billion in net debt (as of the first quarter of 2025) will carry over to the TV company, execs said. In addition, WBD Global Networks will hold up to a 20% retained stake in the media company's streaming and studios business 'that it will plan to monetize in a tax-efficient manner to enhance the de-leveraging of its balance sheet,' according to the Warner Bros. Discovery announcement.
SEE ALSO:
Best of Variety
25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar
New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
Emmy Predictions: Animated Program — Can Netflix Score Big With 'Arcane,' 'Devil May Cry' and the Final Season of 'Big Mouth?'
