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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2025
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Put Rights
The Company has granted put rights to non-controlling interest holders in certain consolidated subsidiaries but is unable to reasonably predict the ultimate amount or timing of any payment.
Legal Matters
From time to time, in the normal course of its operations, the Company is subject to various litigation matters and claims, including claims related to employees, stockholders, vendors, other business partners, government regulations, or intellectual property, as well as disputes and matters involving counterparties to contractual agreements. A determination as to the amount of the accrual required for such contingencies is highly subjective and requires judgment about future events.
The Company may not currently be able to estimate the reasonably possible loss or range of loss for certain matters until developments in such matters have provided sufficient information to support an assessment of such loss. In the absence of sufficient information to support an assessment of the reasonably possible loss or range of loss, no accrual for such contingencies is made and no loss or range of loss is disclosed, including with respect to the matters noted below. Although the outcome of these matters cannot be predicted with certainty and the impact of the final resolution of these matters on the Company’s results of operations in a particular subsequent reporting period is not known, management does not currently believe that the resolution of these matters will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s future consolidated financial position, future results of operations, or cash flows.
Securities Class Action. On November 25, 2024, a securities class action complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Collura v. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc., No. 1:24-cv-09027-KPF). The complaint named Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (“WBD”), Gunnar Wiedenfels, and David M. Zaslav as defendants and asserted claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. On February 21, 2025, the court appointed co-lead plaintiffs (Anthony Yuson and Michael Steinberg) and co-lead counsel (Pomerantz LLP and The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.) to represent the putative class. On May 7, 2025, the lead plaintiffs filed a First Amended Complaint against WBD, Gunnar Wiedenfels, and David M. Zaslav. The First Amended Complaint generally alleges that, between February 23, 2024 and August 7, 2024, defendants made false and misleading statements in SEC filings and other public disclosures relating to WBD’s negotiations with the National Basketball Association (“NBA”) concerning its contractual rights to broadcast the NBA’s content and the potential impact of a failure to renew the contract on its business, in violation of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5, and seeks damages and other relief. The defendants have until July 11, 2025 to answer or move to dismiss.
Consolidated Derivative Action. Between December 20, 2024 and January 14, 2025, four shareholder derivative complaints were filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Roy v. Zaslav et al., No. 1:24-cv-09856-AT, Hollin v. Zaslav et al., No. 1:24-cv-09885-AT, KO v. Zaslav et al., No. 1:25-cv-00114-AT, and Herman, III v. Chen et al., No. 1:25-cv-00352-AT). Each complaint names certain current and former directors and officers of WBD as defendants and WBD as nominal defendant, and each complaint seeks damages and other relief. The complaints generally assert claims against the defendants, derivatively on behalf of WBD, for alleged breaches of fiduciary duty based on the same facts alleged in the Collura securities case described above. The complaints assert various common law causes of action, including breach of fiduciary duties, aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duties, abuse of control, unjust enrichment, gross mismanagement, and waste of corporate assets, as well claims for violations of Sections 14(a), 10(b), and 21D of the Exchange Act. On January 21, 2025, the court consolidated the four actions for all purposes under Case No. 1:24-cv-09856-AT, captioned as In re Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. Derivative Litigation (the “Consolidated Derivative Action”). On February 19, 2025, the Court stayed the Consolidated Derivative Action pending resolution of a final decision on all motions to dismiss the operative complaint in the Collura securities action.
District of Delaware Derivative Action. On February 20, 2025, a fifth shareholder derivative complaint was filed in the United States District Court for Delaware (Harloff v. Zaslav, No. 1:25-cv-00207-JLH). The complaint named certain current and former directors and officers of WBD as defendants and named WBD as nominal defendant. The complaint asserted claims for breaches of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, abuse of control, and gross mismanagement, based on the same facts alleged in the Collura securities case described above in addition to violations of Sections 14(a), 10(b), and 20(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, and sought damages and other relief. On March 13, 2025, the court denied the parties’ joint request to stay the proceedings pending resolution of the Collura securities class action and ordered the plaintiff to show cause as to why the case should not be dismissed for failure to state a claim over which the court has original jurisdiction. On March 31, 2025, the plaintiff filed a notice of voluntary dismissal, which the court so-ordered on April 2, 2025.