Standard General Discusses Warner Bros. Discovery’s Cable TV Assets
Standard General Hedge Fund Explores Acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery TV Networks
Soo Kim, co-founder of the Standard General hedge fund, is reportedly in discussions regarding a potential investment in Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD) television networks, as detailed by the Financial Times.
Sources close to the situation have indicated that Kim was approached by at least one WBD shareholder interested in the acquisition of some or all of the company’s cable TV assets, which include CNN and the Turner Networks. The identity of this shareholder remains undisclosed.
As the leader of Standard General, Kim oversees a hedge fund that is the largest shareholder in gambling firm Bally’s Corporation and owns MediaCo, a Burbank-based television and radio enterprise that serves African American and Hispanic audiences. In 2023, Standard General came close to completing an $8.6 billion deal for station owner Tegna, although regulatory issues ultimately halted the agreement.
Efforts to reach WBD for a comment have been unsuccessful, and Standard General could not be contacted prior to publication.
This development unfolds as WBD’s future remains uncertain. The company recently urged its shareholders to reject a hostile $108 billion offer from Paramount Skydance for its assets while simultaneously pursuing an $82.7 billion enterprise agreement with Netflix that notably excludes its TV networks. WBD President and CEO David Zaslav hosted Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters on a tour of the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank yesterday.
Though the studio and the HBO Max streaming service are generally viewed as key assets, the value of the cable networks has come under scrutiny. These networks have been referred to—somewhat pejoratively—as "CrapCo" in certain circles despite still generating significant revenue. However, the ongoing decline in television advertising and the rise of cord-cutting have contributed to a rapid decrease in their overall value. Paramount’s cash offer for WBD currently values these networks at just $1 per share.
Should Netflix’s planned acquisition proceed, the intention is to spin off the networks and Warner Bros. International Television Production as separate entities, potentially opening the door for Kim’s investment.
