Entertainment giant Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) may be about to split its television arm off from its studio arm, but one point that has not been addressed so often is Warner’s FAST arm. FAST, or Free Ad-supported Streaming Television, is an interesting phenomenon that straddles the line between traditional linear television and premium streaming platforms. Warner’s expansion efforts on this front are drawing attention, but investors are a bit skeptical. In fact, they sent shares down fractionally in the closing minutes of Thursday’s trading.
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The project has already begun, reports noted, with four new channels added to MyFree DirecTV on July 30. Another 12 channels will follow over the course of the next several months. The channels are sorted by theme, interestingly enough, including food, home, travel, history and learning, and many more. The channels in question thus receive content that is connected to that theme, with everything from film to unscripted programming filling in the gaps.
The channels in question join part of a growing lineup on MyFree DirecTV, which has been running since November and offers up over 110 channels’ worth of content so far. MyFree DirecTV General Manager Kent Rees noted “MyFree DIRECTV plays an important role in the new DirecTV experience by introducing many people to our service – for free – for possibly the first time, or enhancing choice and value among the millions of consumers we already serve.”
Coyote Vs. Acme Will Hit After All
Meanwhile, there is good news for those who like the Looney Tunes content from Warner. Coyote Vs. Acme, a legal comedy featuring frequently-dropped-off-a-cliff super-genius Wile E. Coyote, has a release date after all. It will be a while, sadly, as the film gets no release until August 28, 2026.
For those not familiar, Coyote Vs. Acme will feature Wile E. Coyote as he sues the Acme Corporation—the company that supplies the coyote with his various devices used in a bid to catch, and ultimately eat, the Road Runner—over the frequent spectacular failures the devices represent. Filming on Coyote Vs. Acme had been complete since 2022, and a release was planned for 2023 until Warner canceled the release, instead taking a tax write-off. Warner shopped the movie around, and ultimately, found an interested party in Ketchup Entertainment, who had previously won a hit with similarly-treated Warner release The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie.
Is WBD Stock a Good Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on WBD stock based on 10 Buys and eight Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 58.23% rally in its share price over the past year, the average WBD price target of $13.36 per share implies 1.64% upside potential.
