Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is doubling down on his faith in the newly merged media conglomerate.According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Zaslav purchased about $1 million in the company’s stock Wednesday for $19.49 to $19.53 a share. The purchase comes a day after Zaslav touted Warner Bros. Discovery’s position as a leader in the streaming space, calling it “far more balanced” than rival Netflix.“Here comes this new company with this lane, a middle lane wide open for us to accelerate with the broadest and most compelling content in the world,” Zaslav said on the April 26 earnings call.CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels also added to his holdings Wednesday, purchasing close to $500,000 in shares for $19.95 a piece.These purchases may signal the executives’ confidence in the newly formed business, however they may also seek to reassure investors in the near term. On Tuesday, Wiedenfels warned of muted profits at Warner Bros. Discovery for the year, as the company tries to sort through its newly combined assets and as products such as HBO Max see “meaningful churn.” Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery fell after the lower guidance was announced, but were up 1.4 percent in after hours trading Wednesday.Netflix CEO Reed Hastings made a similar $20 million share purchase in January, after the streaming company saw its shares tumble.Discovery and AT&T’s WarnerMedia officially merged to create the new company on April 8.
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