David Zaslav clinched a debt-heavy deal to merge cable mainstay Discovery Inc. - which he'd run since 2006 - with what was then called WarnerMedia. The story he told investors was that the two entities' diverse array of media assets "are better and more valuable together.

Credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings on Wednesday downgraded Warner Bros Discovery to junk status following the company's announced split-up earlier this week, as investors weigh the deal's likely impact on holders of its debt.

Warner Bros. Discovery is splitting into two separate publicly traded companies – one oriented around the HBO Max streaming service and Warner Bros. studio, and the other around CNN and other television networks.