Established media companies are experts in creating TV shows and movies, but their greatest challenge will be telling a story powerful enough to convince investors, talent, and most importantly consumers that they have changed.

On Warner Bros. Discovery’s quest in a world defined by Netflix, Amazon, and Disney

“We didn’t come into this business to build broadband. We didn’t come into this business to sell phones or to build cloud. The people that came into this business got here because we love telling stories.” This soundbite for Vanity Fair from David Zaslav, likely CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, is a dig at the to-be company’s competitors Apple (phones), Amazon (cloud), and even the spinoff’s 71% owner AT&T (broadband). But it’s also a pitch. So, who’s Zaslav trying to win over and why?

The Vanity Fair piece is rich with references to Warner’s storied past: the studios in Burbank, legendary former CEO Steve Ross, the fountain from Friends, Batman’s Batcave, and Wonder Woman’s lasso. The combined effect paints the NewCo as a kind of “heritage” brand—an expert in a timeless craft rather than a traditional media company that needs to change its ways.

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