The vision of Warner Bros. Discovery hasn't panned out, but it opens the door for the studio to do more and for linear to find a new life.

At the end of March, Warner Bros. Discovery had gross debt of $38.0 billion, which is comprised of “total debt” ($37.4 billion) and financial leases ($535 million). The 2022 merger of WarnerMedia (owned by AT&T) and Discovery, Inc. created more than $50 billion of debt.

Wall Street analysts are bullish the move could pave the way for M&A and bring the industry a step closer to rationalization