Warner Bros. Discovery’s share price is climbing with the news that it has joined the ranks of other major global mediacos that are restructuring their businesses with a clear delineation between their linear TV assets, and streaming and studio operations.

The company announced on Thursday (December 12) its plans to divide its businesses into two distinct divisions: global linear networks, and streaming and studios. According to the WBD announcement, the former will “focus on maximizing profitability and free cash flow to continue deleveraging,” while the streaming and studios division will have driving growth as a priority, as well as delivering “strong returns on increasing invested capital.”

Wall Street seemed to approve of the announcement, as WBD shares rose by 11% at press time.

Echoing the language used by Comcast in its announcement regarding spinning off its NBCUniversal cable nets, WBD says the move will “increase optionality to pursue further value creation opportunities for both divisions in an evolving media landscape.”

In a statement, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said the new structure “better aligns our organization and enhances our flexibility with potential future strategic opportunities across an evolving media landscape, help us build on our momentum and create opportunities as we evaluate all avenues to deliver significant shareholder value.”

The repeated term “evolving media landscape” is effectively shorthand for the continuing shift of audiences from linear to streaming – a situation that has seen various legacy mediacos, including WBD, incur massive, multibillion-dollar writedowns. In the case of WBD, its US$9.1 billion writedown in August sent its stock to its lowest point to date.

The company plans on beginning the “foundational steps” for the plan immediately, with the implementation of the new structure set to be completed by mid-2025.

With Comcast and now Warner Bros. Discovery establishing new corporate structures allowing for smooth spin-offs of linear assets, speculation continues regarding what the plan will be for the linear assets of the “New Paramount” once the merger with Skydance is completed. And while Disney topper Bob Iger discussed the possibility of spinning off his company’s linear businesses in a CNBC interview over the summer, that shoe has yet to drop.