April 4, 2024

Warner Bros. Discovery’s Miron and Newhouse Resign Amidst Antitrust Probe

Steven A. Miron and Steven O. Newhouse resigned with immediate effect without admitting any violation amidst the antitrust probe from the U.S. Department of Justice. By Ching Wai.

US -  Steven A. Miron and Steven O. Newhouse have resigned from Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD)’s board of directors with immediate effect. This comes amidst the antitrust probe from the U.S. Department of Justice, which was to investigate whether Miron and Newhouse’s service on the board of directors violated Section 8 of the Clayton Antitrust Act.

Section 8 of the Clayton Act addresses corporate directors that simultaneously serve on the boards of competitors.

Miron is CEO of Advance/Newhouse Partnership and a senior executive officer at Advance. The former company is a privately held media company while the latter is a private family-held business that owns and invests in media and technology companies. Newhouse is co-president of Advance.

The U.S. Department of Justice viewed Charter as a competitor to WBD. The agency stated, “Charter, through its Spectrum cable service, and WBD, including through its Max streaming subscription services, both provide video distribution services to customers.”

Miron and Newhouse elected to resign without admitting any violation rather than contest the issue, considering the changing landscape and dynamics of the entertainment industry. Both had previously worked at Discovery Inc. since 2008 and later joined the WBD board when Discovery Inc. and WarnerMedia merged on 8 April 2022.

“Today’s announcement is a win for consumers,” stated the deputy assistant attorney general Michael Kades of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.

Newhouse said in a statement, “we are proud to have played a role in the building of this great company and remain a large stockholder. We are disappointed to leave the board, but wish to do the right thing for WBD.”

CEO of WBD David Zaslav and chair of the board of WBD Samuel A. Di Piazza, Jr. both expressed best wishes and gratitude to Miron and Newhouse for their contributions on behalf of the entire WBD board of directors and WBD’s leadership team.

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