Shares of entertainment giant Warner Bros Discovery have already fallen 13% this Thursday, hitting an all-time intraday low. The poor results were driven by a $9.1 billion impairment charge, after the company wrote down the values ​​of the TV channels it owns.

The company, which was created in 2022 when Discovery acquired WarnerMedia, concluded that the group's cable channels — such as CNN and TNT — are now worth less than they were when the $42 billion merger was completed.

“Two years ago, market valuations and conditions for traditional media companies were very different than they are today,” said David Zaslav, the group’s CEO.

This decline in value, which extends to most media companies, reflects the continued shift of viewers from traditional television to streaming. This displacement takes with it advertising sales and subscription fees, which provide most of traditional television’s revenue.

Added to this is the fact that Warner Bros. has suffered from a decision last month by the National Basketball Association (NBA). The entertainment giant lost the NBA broadcast rights to Walt Disney Co., Comcast Corp. and Amazon.com — which signed a $76 billion deal for the world's most popular basketball league's 11-year television rights.

Warner Bros. cut more than 2,000 jobs last year and shed 100 at CNN last month alone. Faced with these losses, the company raised subscription prices for its streaming service in June.