Warner Bros. Discovery only had a day to savor Charles Barkley calling off retirement. Earlier today, WBD stock took a sharp nosedive to nearly all-time lows. The median titan which is a combination of blockbuster franchises and cable networks reported a $9.1 billion write-down, well below analysts’ predictions.

WBD reported another $2.1 billion expense that brought the total loss to $11.2 billion as opposed to a $9.7 billion reported revenue. Losing the NBA and the impending lawsuit just got pushed down the WBD CEO David Zaslav’s list. His head’s now on the chopping block in what could be the worst financial situation WBD has faced yet.

Zaslav is discussing with his team and initial reports reveal that WBD is considering aggressive measures to recover from this loss. Exactly as Barkley feared, the chief executive announced another round of layoffs across all its mediums. But that’s barely enough. WBD is reportedly looking into cutting out some assets.

Not precisely letting go of TNT Sports and other networks yet. However, WBD owns several franchises that extend into the video game world. The media giant’s structure is complicated – from franchises in the storied Warner Bros Studios to the legacy channels like CNN and HBO. But offloading smaller assets is relatively easy. So the immediate option would probably be to sell stakes in the intellectual property of the Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, and more games.

But reports of the ‘nuclear option’ are floating around. WBD has reportedly reached out to the likes of NBCUniversal and Paramount to possibly sell legacy properties, including some of its cable networks.

A corporate breakup of such a complex media organism is near impossible. TNT Sports is already preparing to sue the NBA (unless Barkley and others convince them otherwise). But selling sports rights, linear TV properties, and bigger brands could invite lawsuits from debt investors. Moreover, it will leave WBD with operational problems with its content.

On social media, Zaslav is getting dragged. From the day he said, “We don’t have to have the NBA,” in 2022, he became public enemy #1. Fans (and even Barkley) saw the tone he set going into the NBA media rights negotiations before they even began. Now that the NBA has severed its 35-year-old ties and put Inside the NBA in jeopardy, fans are pointing fingers at Zaslav.

WBD’s situation changes in a day

Until recently, TNT had to negotiate with Charles Barkley if they wanted to send him off to retirement with full pay, or keep him with a paycut. Some speculated Zaslav would’ve made those negotiations very difficult for Barkley’s tirade against WBD c-suite for their handling of the NBA media rights. But contrary to that, Sir Charles very easily called off retirement and is going ahead with his $210 million contract.

24 hours ago he said, “I’ve been impressed by the leadership team who is fighting hard and have been aggressive in adding new properties to TNT Sports, which I am very excited about.” And how the situation changed after that.

The biggest loss is in the DTC end. That’s been the media giant’s biggest operational point since the WarnerMedia and Discovery merger almost three years ago. It’s seen a remarkable increase in its streaming side with 103 million subscribers.

The current setback is a combination of factors. The stock prices have plummeted 70%, $2.1 billion of ‘pre-tax acquisition-related amortization of intangibles, content fair value step-up, and restructuring expenses,’ the reported quarterly revenue and studio profits fell by double digits, and the loss of the NBA. Despite what Zaslav said in 2022 – the year WBD was formed and the Inside Guys renewed their contract – their lawsuit against the league said losing the NBA has affected investors’ trust.

The only bright side is that this is not necessarily spiraling and WBD can still recover. However, options do look limited.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger