David Zaslav Touts ‘Opportunity for Consolidation’ Under Trump Administration
David Zaslav said the potential opportunity for consolidation under Donald Trump’s upcoming administration would be “quite different” from the status quo, offering a “positive” impact on the industry in the Warner Bros. Discovery CEO’s view. Zaslav was optimistic about the possible change from the Biden administration’s M&A POV while speaking during the company’s Q3 earnings call on Thursday.
“We have an upcoming new administration, and it’s too early to tell, but it may offer a pace of change and an opportunity for consolidation that may be quite different, that would provide a real positive and accelerated impact on this industry that’s needed,” Zaslav said after reiterating his belief that further consolidation in the industry would positively impact WBD.
Zaslav continued: “These are great companies, and if the best content is going to win, there needs to be some consolidation in order to have these businesses be stronger and have a better consumer experience.”
The Warner Bros. Discovery CEO has long touted consolidation as good for both business and consumers, and spoke warmly of Max’s recent bundling deal with Hulu and Disney+.
“I’ve been saying for a long time, this is an industry that really needs to meaningfully consolidate, and it’s really driven by the consumer experience,” Zaslav said on the earnings call. “Consumers put on a TV set and they see 16 apps, and each of those are doing different pricing, and you’re sitting there with your phone and Googling where a show is or where a sport is, and you’re going from one to another, and there’s so many that you have to go to a separate page. It’s just not a good consumer experience. It’s not sustainable.”
The CEO said this consolidation is already showing up in different ways, including bundling and actually consolidating for offerings that are exclusively domestic or international. He stressed the industry is “in a generational disruption,” underlining the challenges facing ever major player on the board.
Zaslav is far from the only entertainment CEO to be hopeful about more M&A under a second Trump term.
“We’re very excited about the upcoming regulatory environment,” Chris Ripley, the CEO of the conservative-leaning Sinclair Broadcasting Co., said on a Q3 earnings call Wednesday. “It does feel like a cloud over the industry is lifting here, and we do think some much needed modernization of the regulations will be forthcoming.”
Under the Biden administration, the FTC and Justice Department tightened regulation, fostering a climate where entertainment and tech companies put potential M&A deals on hold. That could all change swiftly once Trump takes office in January.
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