Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav meets with CNN anchors after merger

Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav is rushing to meet the employees of the newly formed media giant amid fears of widespread layoffs – and simmering anger over the ouster of ex-CNN boss Jeff Zucker.

Zaslav, who ran Discovery, home of Animal Planet, TLC and HGTV, is expected to unlock at least $3 billion in synergies in 2023 from the deal, which struck on Friday — and media watchdogs have identified CNN and streaming as areas for cuts to WarnerMedia accepted.

Corresponding mediatStaffers at CNN’s DC bureau, which is home to presenters Jake Tapper, Dana Bash, Jim Acosta and Wolf Blitzer, are hoping meetings with Zaslav will go better than the virtual pow-wow with former WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar last month.

Kilar’s tense virtual meeting with CNN’s New York anchors came immediately after Zucker’s downfall and the ongoing turmoil surrounding Chris Cuomo’s exit from the network.

According to a report by Wall Street JournalSeveral moderators demanded responses on Zucker’s departure, expressing anger at the possibility that Cuomo could receive the severance pay he is demanding, which has fallen despite journalistic standards surrounding the coverage of his brother Andrew Cuomo’s turbulent end to his tenure as governor of New ” handsomely paid” is York.

Zaslav replaced Zucker with Chris Licht, an executive producer with stints on MSNBC’s Morning Joe and most recently The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Last week, Kilar left WarnerMedia along with a slew of executives as Discovery prepared to take his throne.

“We want to hear that he lets us do our jobs,” a CNN insider said said Mediaite when asked about her expectations of meeting Zaslav.

An insider disagreed a report by TheWrap that Zaslav will hold “town hall” meetings to address cost savings and imminent layoffs that have spooked WarnerMedia employees in the months leading up to the closing of the $43 billion merger on Friday.

The source said Zaslav is not planning a speech, adding that the tour will be “casual”.

“There will be no comments, there may be food,” the source said.

According to an insider, the CEO will start a “meet and greet tour” on Monday at WarnerMedia’s New York offices in Hudson Yards, home of CNN, which was rocked by the fallout from the resignation of CNN CEO Jeff Zucker in February. He will then travel to Atlanta, where CNN is headquartered, on Tuesday and later stop by the company’s Washington DC offices.

The tour will include WarnerMedia’s HBO offices in Los Angeles on Wednesday and will conclude at WarnerMedia’s offices on the Warner Bros. Studios lot in Burbank, California.

Warner Bros. Discovery shares traded Monday on the Nasdaq under the symbol “WBD,” opening at $24.08 a share.

In early trading, the company’s stock was up 7.5%, helped by an upgrade from Evercore Group. The company upgraded the stock to outperform from inline and announced a price target of $40.

Evercore analyst Vijay Jayant said the combined company is now the second-largest media company after Disney by revenue. He added that it has the assets like the Harry Potter and Batman franchises to “successfully compete” in the global streaming race currently led by Netflix and Disney+.