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Discovery CEO David Zaslav.
Officially, nothing has changed about TCMs on-air offering.
There are no announced plans to shutter the connection or to fire all the on-air hosts who film introductions.
Discovery execs are still issuing memos saying how important the brand is to the company.
But whats happening at TCM isnt just a changing of the guard.
It feels like the beginning of the end.
They had these passion brands they managed, which had rabid fan bases.
The fact that Showtime will soon become a tier on Paramount+ is also the result of similar business realities.
And yes, whatever revenue it generates now is likely much less than it was five years ago.
But that doesnt mean it no longer has value for WBD.
Its one of the few outlets WBD has whose vibe and content arent currently available without a cable subscription.
Whats also sad is that TCMs now-canned leadership team has spent years working to pivot beyond the cable bundle.
Earlier I noted how Disney has radically downsized the ambitions of the FX cable channel.
And yet the company, no doubt prodded by Landgraf, hasnt starved the FX brand.
But FX still matters to Disney, not just in memos sent to staff but in actual deeds.
Our primary aim is to ensure that TCMs programming is untouched and protected.
A WBD rep had no comment on the apparently now-dead discussions about killing outros.
Its also yet another sign of the companys warped priorities these days.
