WBD, §1A diff (2020 → 2021)

ITEM 1A. Risk Factors.

Investing in our securities involves risk. In addition to the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, you should consider the following risk factors before investing in our securities. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe not to be material may also adversely impact our business, results of operations, financial position and cash flows.

Risk Factors Related to the Combination of Discovery and AT&T’s WarnerMedia Business

On May 17, 2021, the Company, our wholly owned subsidiary Drake Subsidiary, Inc., AT&T Inc. (“AT&T”) and AT&T’s wholly owned subsidiary Magallanes, Inc. entered into definitive agreements pursuant to which and subject to the terms and conditions therein (1) AT&T will transfer the business, operations and activities that constitute the WarnerMedia segment of AT&T, subject to certain exceptions (the “WarnerMedia Business”) to Magallanes, Inc. (such transfer, the “Separation”), (2) AT&T will distribute to its stockholders the issued and outstanding shares of common stock of Magallanes, Inc. held by AT&T (such distribution, the “Distribution”) and (3) Drake Subsidiary, Inc. will merge with and into Magallanes, Inc. with Magallanes, Inc. as the surviving entity and wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (such merger, the “Merger” and the Separation, Distribution and Merger collectively, the “Combination”).

The pendency of the proposed Combination may cause disruption in our business.

The definitive agreement and plan of merger (the “Merger Agreement”) related to the Combination restricts us from taking specified actions without AT&T’s consent until the Combination is completed or the Merger Agreement is terminated, including making certain significant acquisitions or investments, entering into certain new lines of business, incurring certain indebtedness in excess of certain thresholds, making non-ordinary course capital expenditures, amending or modifying certain material contracts, divesting certain assets (including certain intellectual property rights), and making certain non-ordinary course changes to personnel and employee compensation. These restrictions and others more fully described in the Merger Agreement may affect our ability to execute our business strategies and attain our financial and other goals and may impact our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

The pendency of the proposed Combination could cause disruptions to our business or business relationships, which could have an adverse impact on our results of operations. Parties with which we have business relationships, including distributors, advertisers and content providers, may be uncertain as to the future of such relationships and may delay or defer certain business decisions, seek alternative relationships with third parties or seek to alter their present business relationships with us. Parties with whom we otherwise may have sought to establish business relationships may seek alternative relationships with third parties.

The pursuit of the Combination and the preparation for the integration of the WarnerMedia Business is expected to place a significant burden on our management and internal resources. The diversion of management’s attention away from day-to-day business concerns and any difficulties encountered in the transition and integration process could adversely affect our financial results.

We have incurred and will continue to incur significant costs, expenses and fees for professional services and other transaction costs in connection with the Combination. The substantial majority of these costs will be nonrecurring expenses relating to the Combination, and many of these costs are payable regardless of whether or not the Combination is consummated. We are also subject to litigation related to the proposed Combination, which could prevent or delay the consummation of the Combination and result in significant costs and expenses.

Failure to complete the Combination in a timely manner or at all could negatively impact the market price of our common stock, as well as our future business and our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We currently anticipate the Combination will be completed in the second quarter of 2022, but the Combination cannot be completed until conditions to closing are satisfied or (if permissible under applicable law) waived. The Combination is subject to numerous closing conditions, including approval by Discovery’s stockholders, receipt of certain regulatory approvals from governmental authorities and AT&T's receipt of a special cash payment in accordance with the terms of the Separation and Distribution Agreement by and among Discovery, AT&T and Magallanes, Inc. Governmental authorities may not approve the Combination, may impose conditions to the approval of the Combination, or may require changes to the terms of the Combination. Any such conditions or changes could have the effect of delaying completion of the Combination, imposing costs on or limiting the revenues of the combined company following the Combination, or otherwise reducing the anticipated benefits of the Combination. We can provide no assurance that these conditions, terms, obligations or restrictions will not result in the abandonment of the Combination.

The satisfaction of the required closing conditions could delay the completion of the Combination for a significant period of time or prevent it from occurring. Further, there can be no assurance that the conditions to the closing of the Combination will be satisfied or waived or that the Combination will be completed.

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If the Combination is not completed in a timely manner or at all, our ongoing business may be adversely affected as follows:

•we may experience negative reactions from the financial markets, and our stock price could decline to the extent that the current market price reflects an assumption that the Combination will be completed;

•we may experience negative reactions from employees, customers, suppliers or other third parties;

•we may be subject to litigation, which could result in significant costs and expenses;

•management’s focus may have been diverted from day-to-day business operations and pursuing other opportunities that could have been beneficial to Discovery; and

•our costs of pursuing the Combination may be higher than anticipated.

In addition to the above risks, we may be required, under certain circumstances, to pay AT&T a termination fee equal to $720 million and/or to reimburse or indemnify AT&T for certain of its expenses. If the Combination is not consummated, there can be no assurance that these risks will not materialize and will not materially adversely affect our stock price, business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Although we expect that the Combination will result in synergies and other benefits to us, we may not realize those benefits because of difficulties related to integration, the achievement of such synergies, and other challenges.

Discovery and the WarnerMedia Business have operated and, until completion of the Combination, will continue to operate, independently, and there can be no assurances that our businesses can be combined in a manner that allows for the achievement of any financial or other benefits. If we are not able to successfully integrate the WarnerMedia Business with ours or pursue our direct-to-consumer strategy successfully, including coordinating our streaming services for global customers, the anticipated benefits, including synergies, of the Combination may not be realized fully, if at all, or may take longer than expected to be realized. Specifically, the following issues, among others, must be addressed in combining the operations of Discovery and the WarnerMedia Business in order to realize the anticipated benefits of the Combination:

•combining the businesses of Discovery and the WarnerMedia Business in the time frame currently anticipated;

•maintaining existing agreements with customers, distributors, providers, talent and vendors and avoiding delays in entering into new agreements with prospective customers, distributors, providers, talent and vendors;

•combining certain of the businesses’ corporate functions;

•determining whether and how to address possible differences in corporate cultures and management philosophies;

•integrating the businesses’ administrative, accounting and information technology infrastructure;

•integrating employees and attracting and retaining key personnel, including talent;

•managing the expanded operations of a significantly larger and more complex company, including with Discovery’s limited prior experience in running a studio or scripted content;

•coordinating the businesses’ direct-to-consumer streaming services for global customers; and

•resolving potential unknown liabilities, adverse consequences and unforeseen increased expenses associated with the Combination.

Even if the operations of our business and the business of the WarnerMedia Business are integrated successfully, the full benefits of the Combination may not be realized, including, among others, the synergies that are expected. These benefits may not be achieved within the anticipated time frame or at all. Additional unanticipated costs may also be incurred in the integration of our business and the business of the WarnerMedia Business. Further, it is possible that there could be loss of key Discovery or WarnerMedia Business employees, loss of customers, disruption of either or both of Discovery’s or WarnerMedia Business’ ongoing businesses or unexpected issues, higher than expected costs and an overall post-completion process that takes longer than originally anticipated. All of these factors could materially adversely affect our stock price, business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

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Our consolidated indebtedness will increase substantially following completion of the Combination. This increased level of indebtedness could adversely affect us, including by decreasing our business flexibility.

Our consolidated indebtedness as of December 31, 2021 was approximately $15.2 billion. Upon completion of the Combination, we will become responsible for up to approximately $43.0 billion of additional debt, including existing debt of the existing WarnerMedia Business, and debt that may be issued by Magallanes, Inc. to fund the transactions, with the ultimate amount of such debt to be issued subject to certain adjustments, including for net working capital. In addition, subject to certain conditions, availability under our revolving credit facility will increase from $2.5 billion to $6.0 billion. The increased indebtedness could have the effect of, among other things, reducing our flexibility to respond to changing business and economic conditions, increasing our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions and limiting our ability to obtain additional financing in the future. In addition, the amount of cash required to pay interest on our indebtedness levels will increase following completion of the Combination, and thus the demands on our cash resources will be greater than prior to the Combination. The increased levels of indebtedness following completion of the Combination could also reduce funds available for capital expenditures, share repurchases, investments, mergers and acquisitions, and other activities and may create competitive disadvantages for us relative to other companies with lower debt levels.

Following consummation of the Combination, our corporate or debt-specific credit rating could be downgraded, which may increase our borrowing costs or give rise to a need to refinance existing indebtedness. If a ratings downgrade occurs, we may need to refinance existing debt or be subject to higher borrowing costs and more restrictive covenants when we incur new debt in the future, which could reduce profitability and diminish operational flexibility.

Risks Related to Our Industry

Our businesses operate in highly competitive industries, and if we are unable to compete effectively, our business, financial condition and results of operations could suffer.

The entertainment and media programming industries in which we operate are highly competitive. We compete with other programming networks for distribution, viewers and advertising. We face increased competitive pressure from subscription based streaming services and DTC offerings, including our discovery+ product, and expansion by other companies—in particular, technology companies—into the content production and distribution space. We also compete for viewers with other forms of media entertainment, such as home entertainment (such as digital products), feature films, periodicals, interactive entertainment, user-generated content, live sports and other events, social media and diverse on-line and mobile activities. Internet-based advertising, including through websites and search engines, has seen significant growth, placing pressure on traditional advertising models tied to television networks, including on free-to-air, cable network and satellite delivered channels. Businesses, including ours, that offer multiple services, or that may be vertically integrated and offer both video distribution and programming content, may face closer regulatory review from the competition authorities in the countries in which we currently have operations. If our distributors have to pay higher rates to holders of sports broadcasting rights, it might be difficult for us to negotiate higher rates for distribution of our networks. The ability of our businesses to compete successfully depends on a number of factors, including our ability to consistently supply high quality and popular content, access our targeted audience with appealing category-specific content, adapt to new technologies, distribution platforms and business models and achieve widespread distribution.

In addition, our television networks, premium pay-TV and basic tier television services and the discovery+ platform also face competition from other television networks, online platforms/streaming video service providers, pay-TV service providers and independent producers that develop, produce, acquire and sell entertainment and sports content. As competition from these networks, service providers and producers continues to increase, we may not be able to acquire or create popular entertainment, sports and news content or acquire it at a cost-effective price. As a result of an increasing number of market entrants in the programming space, we have seen upward pressure on programming costs in recent years, including in connection with the licensing and acquisition of entertainment and sports content from third parties, as well as with the commissioning of original production. We may also be impacted by such upward pressures driven by increasing investment by competitors. In certain international markets, regulations concerning content quotas or content investment requirements may be a further factor driving increasing programming costs. There can be no assurance that we will be able to compete successfully in the future against existing or new competitors, or that increasing competition will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

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The success of our business depends on the acceptance of our entertainment and sports content by our U.S. and foreign viewers, which may be unpredictable and volatile.

The production and distribution of entertainment and sports content are inherently risky businesses because the revenue we derive and our ability to distribute our content depend primarily on consumer tastes and preferences that often change in unpredictable ways. Our success depends on our ability to consistently create and acquire content that meets the changing preferences of viewers in general, in special interest groups, in specific demographic categories and in various international marketplaces. As the home of the Olympic Games in Europe until 2024, we have been developing and innovating new forms of content in connection with the Olympic Games. Our success with the Olympics depends on audience acceptance of this content. If viewers do not find our Olympic Games content acceptable, we could see low viewership, which could lead to low distribution and advertising revenues. The success of our partnership with the PGA Tour, which runs through 2031, is similarly dependent on audience acceptance and viewership. Failing to gain the level of audience acceptance we expect for the PGA Tour content may negatively impact our distribution and advertising revenues over the period of the partnership.

The commercial success of our content also depends upon the quality and acceptance of competing content available in the applicable marketplace. Other factors, including the availability of alternative forms of entertainment and leisure time activities, our ability to maintain or develop strong brand awareness and target key audiences, general economic conditions, piracy, and growing competition for consumer discretionary spending, time and attention may also affect the audience for our content. Audience sizes for our media networks are critical factors affecting both the volume and pricing of advertising revenue that we receive with respect to advertising-supported services, and the extent of distribution and penetration and the license fees we receive under agreements with our distributors with respect to subscription-based services. The appeal, success and performance of our content with consumers, as well as with third-party licensees and other distribution partners, are also critical factors that can affect the revenue that we receive with respect to our content-related business.

Consequently, reduced public acceptance of our entertainment content may decrease our audience share and customer/viewer reach and adversely affect our results of operations.

There has been a shift in consumer behavior as a result of technological innovations and changes in the distribution of content, which may affect our viewership and the profitability of our business in unpredictable ways.

Technology and business models in our industry continue to evolve rapidly in an environment of fast-paced changes in consumer behavior as well as innovation. Changes to these business models include (a) consumers’ increasing demand to consume video content on their own terms, including on the screen of their choice, at the time of their choice, and with enhanced functionality; (b) the presence of streaming services, which are increasing in number and some of which have a significant and growing subscriber base; (c) the proliferation of high speed internet connections and the expansion of 5G networks able to support high-quality streaming video within increasingly interactive and interconnected digital environments; and (d) the increased video consumption through subscription streaming services and time-delayed or time-shifted viewing of television programming through on-demand services and DVRs as well as the availability of video content through other distribution outlets, including digital home entertainment (such as electronic sell-through and transaction video-on-demand). Consumer behavior related to these changes in content distribution, viewership and technological innovation are not entirely predictable but remain key factors in our economic model; such changes may accordingly materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Consumers are increasingly viewing content on a time-delayed or on-demand basis from traditional distributors and from streaming services, apps and websites and on a wide variety of screens, such as televisions, tablets, mobile phones and other devices. The inability to meet consumer demands and expectations in today’s highly mobile, multi-screen and multi-platform environment for video delivery may affect the attractiveness of our offerings. Ineffective technology and product integration, lack of specific features and functionalities, poor interface design or ease of use, or platform performance issues, among other factors, may cause viewers to favor alternative offerings. Additionally, devices that allow users to view television programs on a time-shifted basis and technologies that enable users to fast-forward or skip programming, including commercials, such as DVRs and portable digital devices and systems that enable users to store or make portable copies of content may affect the attractiveness of our offerings to advertisers and could therefore adversely affect our advertising revenues. In addition, there is increased demand for short-form, user-generated and interactive content, which have different economic models than our traditional content offerings. Likewise, distributors are seeking to offer smaller programming packages known as “skinny bundles,” which are delivered at a lower cost than traditional offerings and sometimes allow consumers to create a customized package of networks, that are gaining popularity among consumers. If our networks are not included in these packages or consumers favor alternative offerings, we may experience a decline in viewership and ultimately the demand for our programming, which could lead to lower distribution and advertising revenues.

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We have also seen declines in subscribers to the traditional cable bundle. In 2021, total U.S. Networks portfolio subscribers declined 8% while subscribers to our fully distributed networks declined 4%. In order to respond to subscription declines and changes in content distribution models in our industry, we have invested in, developed and launched DTC products including our discovery+ product. There can be no assurance, however, that our viewers will respond to our DTC products or that our DTC strategy will be successful, particularly given the increase in DTC products on the market. Each distribution model has different risks and economic consequences for us, so the rapid evolution of consumer preferences may have an economic impact that is not ultimately predictable. Distribution windows are also evolving, potentially affecting revenues from other windows. If we cannot ensure that our distribution methods and content are responsive to our target audiences, our business could be adversely affected.

The COVID-19 pandemic appears to have accelerated some existing trends. Lockdowns during the pandemic, for example, encouraged households to experiment with digital offerings including subscription video-on-demand or to stack subscriptions. Although we expect these trends to continue in the coming years, our viewership and the profitability of our business may be impacted in unpredictable ways as a result thereof. Moreover, there can be no assurance of the continuation of these trends.

If our DTC product, discovery+, fails to attract and retain subscribers, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely impacted.

In January 2021, Discovery launched an aggregated DTC product, discovery+, in the U.S. We have incurred and will likely continue to incur significant costs to develop and market discovery+ and there can be no assurance that consumers and advertisers will embrace our offering or that subscribers will activate or renew a subscription.

Our discovery+ offering is a subscription-based streaming product and is among many such services in a crowded and competitive landscape. Its success will also be largely dependent on our ability to initially attract, and ultimately retain, subscribers. Competitors to discovery+ include traditional linear programming networks, including our own linear channels, competing subscription video-on-demand services, and other digital entertainment platforms and offerings all vying for consumer time, attention and discretionary spending. If we are unable to effectively market discovery+ or if consumers do not perceive the pricing and related features of discovery+ to be of value versus our competitors, we may not be able to attract and retain subscribers. In particular, decreases in consumer discretionary spending where discovery+ is offered may reduce our ability to attract and retain subscribers to discovery+, which could have a negative impact on our business. Relatedly, a decrease in viewing subscribers on our advertising-supported offering of discovery+ could also have a negative impact on the rates we are able to charge advertisers for advertising-supported services. The ability to attract and retain subscribers will also depend in part on our ability to provide compelling content choices that are differentiated from that of our competitors and that are more attractive than other sources of entertainment that consumers could choose in their free time. Furthermore, our ability to provide a quality subscriber experience and our relative service levels, may also impact our ability to attract and retain subscribers. If we are unable to attract and retain subscribers to discovery+, our business could be adversely affected.

Consolidation among pay-TV programming and satellite providers, both domestically and internationally, could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Consolidation among cable and satellite operators has given the largest operators considerable leverage in their relationships with programmers, including us. For the U.S. Networks segment, 84% of our distribution revenue comes from the top 10 distributors. We currently have agreements in place with the 10 largest cable and satellite operators at U.S. Networks that expire at various times from 2022 through 2025. Some of our largest distributors have combined, and as a result, have gained, or may gain, market power, which could affect our ability to maximize the value of our content through those platforms. In addition, many of the countries and territories in which we distribute our networks also have a small number of dominant distributors. Continued consolidation within the industry could reduce the number of distributors to carry our programming, subject our affiliate fee revenue to greater volume discounts, and further increase the negotiating leverage of the cable and satellite television system operators which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.

Failure to renew, renewal with less favorable terms, or termination of our distribution agreements may cause a decline in our revenue.

Because our networks are licensed on a wholesale basis to distributors, such as cable and satellite operators, which in turn distribute them to consumers, we are dependent upon the maintenance of distribution agreements with these operators. These distribution agreements generally provide for the level of carriage our networks will receive, such as channel placement and programming package inclusion (widely distributed, broader programming packages compared to lesser distributed, specialized programming packages) and for payment of a license fee to us based on the number of subscribers that receive our networks or other factors.

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While the number of subscribers associated with our networks impacts our ability to generate advertising revenue, subscription-based revenue also represents a significant portion of our revenue. Our distribution agreements generally have a limited term which varies by territory and distributor, and there can be no assurance that these distribution agreements will be renewed in the future or that they will be renewed on terms that are favorable to us. A reduction in the license fees that we receive or in the number of subscribers for which we are paid, including as a result of a loss or reduction in carriage for our networks or a reduction in distributor penetration, including as a result of changes in consumer habits, could adversely affect our distribution revenue. Such a loss or reduction in carriage could also decrease the potential audience for our programs thereby adversely affecting our advertising revenue. In addition, our distribution agreements are complex and individually negotiated. If we were to disagree with one of our counterparties on the interpretation of a distribution agreement, our relationship with that counterparty could be damaged and our business could be negatively affected.

Interpretation of some terms of our distribution agreements may have an adverse effect on the distribution payments we receive under those agreements.

Some of our distribution agreements contain “most favored nation” clauses. These clauses typically provide that if we enter into an agreement with another distributor which contains certain more favorable terms, we must offer some of those terms to our existing distributors. We have entered into a number of distribution agreements with terms that differ in some respects from those contained in other agreements. While we believe that we have appropriately complied with the most favored nation clauses included in our distribution agreements, these agreements are complex and other parties could reach a different conclusion that, if correct, could have an adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.

We face cybersecurity and similar risks, which could result in the disclosure of confidential information, disruption of our programming services, damage to our brands and reputation, legal exposure and financial losses.

We and our partners rely on various technology systems in connection with the production, distribution and broadcast of our programming, and our on-line, mobile and app offerings, as well as our internal systems, involve the storage and transmission of personal and proprietary information. From time to time, hackers and other malicious actors target Discovery and our service providers. Our systems and our service providers’ systems have been breached in the past due to cybersecurity attacks. These systems may continue to be breached in the future due to employee error, malicious code, hacking and phishing attacks, or otherwise. If our information security systems or data are compromised in a material way, such compromises could result in a disruption of services or a reduction of the revenues we are able to generate from such services, damage to our brands and reputation, a loss of confidence in the security of our offerings and services, and significant legal and financial exposure, each of which could potentially have an adverse effect on our business. Additionally, outside parties may attempt to fraudulently induce employees or users to disclose sensitive or confidential information in order to gain access to data and systems.

We also face regulatory risk associated with the acquisition, storage, disclosure, use and protection of personal data, including under the E.U. GDPR, the CCPA, and various other domestic and international privacy and data security laws and regulations, which are continually evolving. These evolving data protection laws may require us to expend significant resources to implement additional data protection measures, and our actual or alleged failure to comply with such laws could result in legal claims, regulatory enforcement actions and significant fines and penalties.

Risks Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused substantial disruption in television production, financial markets and economies worldwide, both of which could result in adverse effects on our business, operations, stock price and ability to raise capital.

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the global economy and continues to create significant volatility and disruption in the credit and financial markets, and while some economic disruption may ease from time to time, such disruption is expected to continue and may worsen for an undetermined period of time. There is a significant degree of uncertainty and lack of visibility as to the extent and duration of the global economic disruption caused by COVID-19; however, a prolonged disruption, slowdown or recession could materially adversely affect our credit ratings, stock price, ability to access capital on favorable terms and ability to meet our liquidity needs.

Our businesses, as with other businesses globally, have been significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic both domestically and internationally, including as a result of governmentally imposed shutdowns, workforce realignments, labor and supply chain interruptions, and quarantines and travel restrictions, among other factors. Shutdowns and/or restrictions relating to television production activity have impacted, and may continue to impact, various aspects of project scheduling, completion and budgets, as well as revenue streams tied to projected release or availability dates. All such impacts may continue for an indefinite length of time.

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Our actions to limit the adverse effects of COVID-19 on our financial condition may not be successful, as the extent and duration of the adverse effects of the pandemic is not determinable and depends on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. Events resulting from the effects of COVID-19 may negatively impact our ability to comply with our financial covenants. Also, additional funding may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all. If adequate funding is not available, we may be required to reduce expenditures, including curtailing our growth strategies and reducing our product development efforts, or forego acquisition opportunities.

Risks Related to Domestic and Foreign Laws and Regulations and Other Risks Related to International Operations

Changes in domestic and foreign laws and regulations and other risks related to international operations could adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Programming services like ours, and the distributors of our services, including cable operators, satellite operators and other multi-channel video programming distributors, are regulated by U.S. federal laws and regulations issued and administered by various federal agencies, including the FCC, as well as by state and local governments, in ways that affect the daily conduct of our video content business. These obligations and regulations, among other things, require closed captioning of programming for the hearing impaired, require certain content providers to make available audio descriptions of programming for the visually impaired, limit the amount and content of commercial matter that may be shown during programming aimed primarily at an audience of children aged 12 and under, and require the identification of (or the maintenance of lists of) sponsors of political advertising. See the discussion under “Business – Regulatory Matters” that appears above. The U.S. Congress, the FCC and the courts currently have under consideration, and may adopt or interpret in the future, new laws, regulations and policies regarding a wide variety of matters that could, directly or indirectly, affect the operations of our U.S. media properties or modify the terms under which we offer our services and operate.

Similarly, the foreign jurisdictions in which our networks are offered have, in varying degrees, laws and regulations that govern our business. We have operations through which we distribute programming outside the United States. As a result, our business is subject to certain risks inherent in international business, many of which are beyond our control. These risks include:

•laws and policies affecting trade and taxes, including laws and policies relating to the repatriation of funds and withholding taxes, and changes in these laws;

•local regulatory requirements (and any changes to such requirements), including restrictions on content, censorship, imposition of local content quotas, local production levies and restrictions or prohibitions on foreign ownership, outsourcing, consumer protection, intellectual property and related rights, including copyright and rightsholder rights and remuneration;

•our ability to obtain the appropriate licenses and other regulatory approvals we need to broadcast content in foreign countries;

•differing degrees of protection for intellectual property and varying attitudes towards the piracy of intellectual property;

•significant fluctuations in foreign currency value;

•currency exchange controls;

•the instability of foreign economies and governments;

•war and acts of terrorism;

•anti-corruption laws and regulations such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the U.K. Bribery Act, and programs administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, that impose stringent requirements on how we conduct our foreign operations and changes in these laws and regulations;

•foreign privacy and data protection laws and regulation and changes in these laws; and

•shifting consumer preferences regarding the viewing of video programming.

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Events or developments related to these and other risks associated with international trade could adversely affect our revenues from non-U.S. sources, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operating results, liquidity and prospects. Acts of terrorism, hostilities, imposition of sanctions, or financial, political, economic or other uncertainties could lead to a reduction in revenue or loss of investment, which could adversely affect our results of operations. Furthermore, some foreign markets where we and our partners operate may be more adversely affected by current economic conditions than the U.S. We also may incur substantial expense as a result of changes, including the imposition of new restrictions, in the existing economic or political environment in the regions where we do business.

This is of particular concern in Poland, where we own and operate TVN, a portfolio of free-to-air and pay-TV lifestyle, entertainment, and news networks. On December 17, 2021, a proposed amendment to the Polish Broadcasting Act commonly referred to as “LEX TVN” was presented to the lower chamber of the Polish Parliament (the “Sejm”) for consideration and was subsequently passed by the Sejm. LEX TVN would prohibit the granting of licenses for television and radio broadcasting channels in Poland, such as the TVN portfolio of channels, to broadcasters with more than 49% of their share capital directly or indirectly controlled by an entity with a registered seat outside of the European Economic Area, essentially precluding non-European Economic Area ownership of media entities in Poland. LEX TVN was presented to the President of Poland for consideration and, on December 27, 2021, the President of Poland vetoed LEX TVN. In the future, if legislation similar to LEX TVN is enacted, it could, directly or indirectly, affect the future operations of our Polish media properties and/or modify the terms under which we offer our services and operate in that market in the future.

Global economic conditions may have an adverse effect on our business.

Our business is significantly affected by prevailing economic conditions, including inflation and fluctuations in interest rates, and by disruptions to financial markets. We derive substantial revenues from advertisers, and these expenditures are sensitive to general economic conditions and consumer buying patterns. Financial instability or a general decline in economic conditions in the U.S. and other countries where our networks are distributed could adversely affect the businesses of our partners who might reduce their spending on advertising, which could result in a decrease in advertising rates and volume and our advertising revenues.

Decreases in consumer discretionary spending in the U.S. and other countries where our networks are distributed may affect cable television and other video service subscriptions, in particular with respect to digital service tiers on which certain of our programming networks are carried. This could lead to a decrease in the number of subscribers receiving our programming from multi-channel video programming distributors, which could have a negative impact on our viewing subscribers and distribution revenues. Similarly, a decrease in viewing subscribers would also have a negative impact on the number of viewers actually watching the programs on our programming networks, which could also impact the rates we are able to charge advertisers.

Economic conditions can also negatively affect the ability of those with whom we do business to satisfy their obligations to us. The general worsening of current global economic conditions could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations, and the worsening of economic conditions in certain parts of the world, specifically, could impact the expansion and success of our businesses in such areas.

Foreign exchange rate fluctuations may adversely affect our operating results and financial conditions.

We have significant operations in a number of foreign jurisdictions and certain of our operations are conducted and certain of our debt obligations are denominated in foreign currencies. As a result, we have exposure to foreign currency risk as we enter into transactions and make investments denominated in multiple currencies. In addition, unforeseeable changes in foreign currency exchange rates could materially adversely affect our calculations of interest coverage and leverage ratios, which are used by independent rating agencies to assign short and long-term debt ratings. Lower debt ratings could increase our cost of borrowing or make it more difficult for us to obtain future financing, which could materially adversely affect our operating results and financial conditions. The value of these currencies fluctuates relative to the U.S. dollar. Our consolidated financial statements are denominated in U.S. dollars, and to prepare those financial statements we must translate the amounts of the assets, liabilities, net sales, other revenues and expenses of our operations outside of the U.S. from local currencies into U.S. dollars using exchange rates for the current period. As we have expanded our international operations, our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations has increased. This increased exposure could have an adverse effect on our reported results of operations and net asset balances. There is no assurance that downward trending currencies will rebound or that stable currencies will remain unchanged in any period or for any specific market.

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Increasing complexity of global tax policy and regulations could adversely impact our international business and results of operations.

We continue to face the increasing complexity of operating a global business, as we are subject to tax policy and regulations in multiple non-U.S. jurisdictions. Many foreign jurisdictions are contemplating additional taxes and/or levies on over-the-top services, as well as media advertising. In addition, many foreign jurisdictions have increased scrutiny and have either changed, or plan to change, their international tax systems due to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (“OECD”) Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“BEPS”) recommendations. The BEPS recommendations call for enhanced transparency and reporting relating to companies’ entity structures and transfer pricing policies. These have been implemented through various initiatives including the requirement for taxpayers to comply with global country-by-country reporting and the filing of a global master file as well as the introduction of the multilateral instrument (“MLI”) which allows taxing authorities to better take aim at multinational tax avoidance. We continue to address and comply with these compliance and reporting requirements. Recently, officials from 136 jurisdictions, including the U.S., agreed upon a framework for overhauling the taxation of multinational corporations that includes, among other things, profit reallocation rules and a 15% global minimum corporate income tax rate. These provisions, if implemented, could have a material effect on our income tax liability.

Additional complexity has also arisen in state aid: state resources used to provide recipients an advantage on a selective basis that has or could distort competition and affect trade between European member states. In recent years the European Commission (“EC”) has increased their scrutiny on state aid and deviated from the historical E.U. state aid practices. There is great uncertainty about the future of E.U. state aid practices based on the appeals of many significant EC rulings against multinational corporations that are currently being challenged. The potential impact of these rulings is difficult to assess and our transfer pricing analyses conducted pursuant to accepted OECD methodologies may not sufficiently mitigate risk associated with our past or current agreements. Continued access, at historical levels, to production incentive schemes, such as tax credits, may also be affected by proposed changes in the laws currently under examination.

In addition, the determination of our worldwide provision for income taxes and current and deferred tax assets and liabilities requires judgment and estimation. Our income taxes could also be materially adversely affected by earnings being lower than anticipated in jurisdictions that have lower statutory tax rates and higher than anticipated in jurisdictions that have higher statutory tax rates, by changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities, or by changes in worldwide tax laws, regulations, or accounting principles.

In the U.S., the Biden administration has issued guidance on certain tax law changes that it would support, which include, among other things, a significant increase in the corporate income tax rate, a new alternative minimum tax on book income and changes in the taxation of non-U.S. income. There has been recently released proposed legislation that includes, among other things, a new interest deduction limitation for certain domestic corporations that are member of certain multinational groups. While it is too early to predict the outcome of these proposals, if enacted, they would have a material impact on our income tax liability.

Risks Related to Our Business Model and Capital Structure

We have a significant amount of debt and may incur significant amounts of additional debt, which could adversely affect our financial health and our ability to react to changes in our business.

As of December 31, 2021, we had approximately $15.2 billion of consolidated debt, of which $339 million is current. Our substantial level of indebtedness increases the possibility that we may be unable to generate cash sufficient to pay when due the principal of, interest on, or other amounts associated with our indebtedness. In addition, we have the ability to draw down our $2.5 billion revolving credit facility in the ordinary course, which would have the effect of increasing our indebtedness. We are also permitted, subject to certain restrictions under our existing indebtedness, to obtain additional long-term debt and working capital lines of credit to meet future financing needs. This would have the effect of increasing our total leverage.

Our substantial leverage could have significant negative consequences on our financial condition and results of operations, including:

•impairing our ability to meet one or more of the financial ratio covenants contained in our revolving credit facility or to generate cash sufficient to pay interest or principal, which could result in an acceleration of some or all of our outstanding debt in the event that an uncured default occurs;

•increasing our vulnerability to general adverse economic and market conditions;

•limiting our ability to obtain additional debt or equity financing;

•requiring the dedication of a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to service our debt, thereby reducing the amount of cash flow available for other purposes;

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•requiring us to sell debt or equity securities or to sell some of our core assets, possibly on unfavorable terms, to meet payment obligations;

•limiting our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and the markets in which we compete; and

•placing us at a possible competitive disadvantage with less leveraged competitors and competitors that may have better access to capital resources.

Our ability to incur debt and the use of our funds could be limited by the restrictive covenants in the loan agreement for our revolving credit facility.

The loan agreement for our revolving credit facility contains restrictive covenants, as well as requirements to comply with certain leverage and other financial maintenance tests. These covenants and requirements could limit our ability to take various actions, including incurring additional debt, guaranteeing indebtedness and engaging in various types of transactions, including mergers, acquisitions and sales of assets. These covenants could place us at a disadvantage compared to some of our competitors, who may have fewer restrictive covenants and may not be required to operate under these restrictions. Further, these covenants could have an adverse effect on our business by limiting our ability to take advantage of financing, mergers and acquisitions or other opportunities.

Financial performance for our equity method investments and investments without readily determinable fair value may differ from current estimates.

We have equity investments in several entities and the accounting treatment applied for these investments varies depending on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, our percentage ownership and the level of influence or control we have over the relevant entity. Any losses experienced by these entities could adversely impact our results of operations and the value of our investment. In addition, if these entities were to fail and cease operations, we may lose the entire value of our investment and the stream of any shared profits. Some of our ventures may require additional uncommitted funding. We also have significant investments in entities that we have accounted for as investments without readily determinable fair value. If these entities experience significant losses or were to fail and cease operations, our investments could be subject to impairment and the loss of a part or all of our investment value.

As a holding company, we could be unable to obtain cash in amounts sufficient to meet our financial obligations or other commitments.

Our ability to meet our financial obligations and other contractual commitments will depend upon our ability to access cash. We are a holding company, and our sources of cash include our available cash balances, net cash from the operating activities of our subsidiaries, any dividends and interest we may receive from our investments, availability under our credit facility or any credit facilities that we may obtain in the future and proceeds from any asset sales we may undertake in the future. The ability of our operating subsidiaries, including Discovery Communications, LLC, ("DCL") to pay dividends or to make other payments or advances to us will depend on their individual operating results and any statutory, regulatory or contractual restrictions, including restrictions under our credit facility, to which they may be or may become subject. Under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, we were subject to U.S. taxes for the deemed repatriation of certain cash balances held by foreign corporations. The Company intends to continue to permanently reinvest these funds outside of the U.S., and current plans do not demonstrate a need to repatriate them to fund our U.S. operations.

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Risks Related to Corporate Structure

We have directors in common with those of Liberty Media Corporation (“Liberty Media”), Liberty Global plc (“Liberty Global”), Qurate Retail Group f/k/a Liberty Interactive Corporation (“Qurate Retail”), Liberty Broadband Corporation ("Liberty Broadband"), and Liberty Latin America Ltd ("LLA"), which may result in the diversion of business opportunities or other potential conflicts.

Liberty Media, Liberty Global, Qurate Retail, Liberty Broadband and LLA (together, the "Liberty Entities") own interests in various U.S. and international companies, such as Charter Communications, Inc. ("Charter"), that have subsidiaries that own or operate domestic or foreign content services that may compete with the content services we offer. We have no rights in respect of U.S. or international content opportunities developed by or presented to the subsidiaries of any Liberty Entities, and the pursuit of these opportunities by such subsidiaries may adversely affect our interests and those of our stockholders. Because we and the Liberty Entities have overlapping directors, the pursuit of business opportunities may serve to intensify the conflicts of interest or appearance of conflicts of interest faced by the respective management teams. Our charter provides that none of our directors or officers will be liable to us or any of our subsidiaries for breach of any fiduciary duty by reason of the fact that such individual directs a corporate opportunity to another person or entity (including any Liberty Entities), for which such individual serves as a director or officer, or does not refer or communicate information regarding such corporate opportunity to us or any of our subsidiaries, unless (a) such opportunity was expressly offered to such individual solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of us or any of our subsidiaries and (b) such opportunity relates to a line of business in which we or any of our subsidiaries is then directly engaged.

We have directors that are also related persons of Advance/Newhouse and that overlap with those of the Liberty Entities, which may lead to conflicting interests for those tasked with the fiduciary duties of our board.

Our twelve-person board of directors includes three designees of Advance/Newhouse Programming Partnership ("Advance/Newhouse"), including Robert J. Miron, who was the Chairman of Advance/Newhouse until December 31, 2010, and Steven A. Miron, the Chief Executive Officer of Advance/Newhouse. In addition, our board of directors includes two persons who are currently members of the board of directors of Liberty Media, three persons who are currently members of the board of directors of Liberty Global, one person who is currently a member of the board of directors of Qurate Retail, two persons who are currently members of the board of directors of Liberty Broadband, one person who is currently a member of the board of directors of Charter, of which Liberty Broadband owns an equity interest, and two persons who are currently members of the board of directors of LLA. John C. Malone is the Chairman of the boards of all of the Liberty Entities other than LLA and Qurate Retail. The parent company of Advance/Newhouse and the Liberty Entities own interests in a range of media, communications and entertainment businesses.

Advance/Newhouse will elect three directors annually for so long as it owns a specified minimum amount of our Series A-1 convertible preferred stock. The Advance/Newhouse Series A-1 convertible preferred stock, which votes with our common stock on all matters other than the election of directors, represents approximately 23% of the voting power of our outstanding shares. The Series A-1 convertible preferred stock also grants Advance/Newhouse consent rights over a range of our corporate actions, including fundamental changes to our business, the issuance of additional capital stock, mergers and business combinations and certain acquisitions and dispositions.

None of the Liberty Entities own any interest in us. Mr. Malone beneficially owns: shares of Liberty Media representing approximately 48% of the aggregate voting power of its outstanding stock, shares representing approximately 30% of the aggregate voting power of Liberty Global, shares representing approximately 6% of the aggregate voting power of Qurate Retail, shares representing approximately 49% of the aggregate voting power of Liberty Broadband and shares representing approximately 20% of the aggregate voting power (other than with respect to the election of the common stock directors) of our outstanding stock. Mr. Malone controls approximately 26% of our aggregate voting power relating to the election of our nine common stock directors, assuming that the preferred stock owned by Advance/Newhouse has not been converted into shares of our common stock. Our directors who are also directors of the Liberty Entities hold stock and stock-based compensation in the Liberty Entities and hold our stock and stock-based compensation.

These ownership interests and/or business positions could create, or appear to create, potential conflicts of interest when these individuals are faced with decisions that could have different implications for us, Advance/Newhouse and/or the Liberty Entities. For example, there may be the potential for a conflict of interest when we, on the one hand, or Advance/Newhouse and/or one or more of the Liberty Entities, on the other hand, consider acquisitions and other corporate opportunities that may be suitable for the other.

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The members of our board of directors have fiduciary duties to us and our stockholders. Likewise, those persons who serve in similar capacities at Advance/Newhouse or a Liberty Entity have fiduciary duties to those companies. Therefore, such persons may have conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflicts of interest with respect to matters involving or affecting both respective companies, and there can be no assurance that the terms of any transactions will be as favorable to us or our subsidiaries as would be the case in the absence of a conflict of interest.

It may be difficult for a third party to acquire us, even if such acquisition would be beneficial to our stockholders.

Certain provisions of our charter and bylaws may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control that a stockholder may consider favorable. These provisions include the following:

•authorizing a capital structure with multiple series of common stock: a Series B that entitles the holders to ten votes per share, a Series A-1 that entitles the holders to one vote per share and a Series C that, except as otherwise required by applicable law, entitles the holders to no voting rights;

•authorizing the Series A-1 convertible preferred stock with special voting rights, which prohibits us from taking any of the following actions, among others, without the prior approval of the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of such stock:

◦increasing the number of members of the Board of Directors above ten;

◦making any material amendment to our charter or by-laws;

◦engaging in a merger, consolidation or other business combination with any other entity; and

◦appointing or removing our Chairman of the Board or our Chief Executive Officer;

•authorizing the issuance of “blank check” preferred stock, which could be issued by our Board of Directors to increase the number of outstanding shares and thwart a takeover attempt;

•classifying our common stock directors with staggered three-year terms and having three directors elected by the holders of the Series A convertible preferred stock, which may lengthen the time required to gain control of our Board of Directors;

•limiting who may call special meetings of stockholders;

•prohibiting stockholder action by written consent (subject to certain exceptions), thereby requiring stockholder action to be taken at a meeting of the stockholders;

•establishing advance notice requirements for nominations of candidates for election to our Board of Directors or for proposing matters that can be acted upon by stockholders at stockholder meetings;

•requiring stockholder approval by holders of at least 80% of our voting power or the approval by at least 75% of our Board of Directors with respect to certain extraordinary matters, such as a merger or consolidation, a sale of all or substantially all of our assets or an amendment to our charter;

•requiring the consent of the holders of at least 75% of the outstanding Series B common stock (voting as a separate class) to certain share distributions and other corporate actions in which the voting power of the Series B common stock would be diluted by, for example, issuing shares having multiple votes per share as a dividend to holders of Series A common stock; and

•the existence of authorized and unissued stock which would allow our Board of Directors to issue shares to persons friendly to current management, thereby protecting the continuity of our management, or which could be used to dilute the stock ownership of persons seeking to obtain control of us.

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Holders of any single series of our common stock may not have any remedies if any action by our directors or officers has an adverse effect on only that series of common stock.

Principles of Delaware law and the provisions of our charter may protect decisions of our Board of Directors that have a disparate impact upon holders of any single series of our common stock. Under Delaware law, the Board of Directors has a duty to act with due care and in the best interests of all of our stockholders, including the holders of all series of our common stock. Principles of Delaware law established in cases involving differing treatment of multiple classes or series of stock provide that a board of directors owes an equal duty to all common stockholders regardless of class or series and does not have separate or additional duties to any group of stockholders. As a result, in some circumstances, our directors may be required to make a decision that is adverse to the holders of one series of common stock. Under the principles of Delaware law referred to above, stockholders may not be able to challenge these decisions if our Board of Directors is disinterested and adequately informed with respect to these decisions and acts in good faith and in the honest belief that it is acting in the best interests of all of our stockholders.

If Advance/Newhouse were to exercise its registration rights, it may cause a significant decline in our stock price, even if our business is doing well.

Advance/Newhouse has been granted registration rights covering all of the shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the convertible preferred stock held by Advance/Newhouse. Each share of Advance/Newhouse’s Series A-1 convertible preferred stock is currently convertible into nine shares of our Series A common stock and each share of Advance/Newhouse’s Series C-1 convertible preferred stock is convertible into 19.3648 shares of our Series C common stock, subject to certain anti-dilution adjustments. The registration rights, which are immediately exercisable, are transferable with the sale or transfer by Advance/Newhouse of blocks of shares representing 10% or more of the preferred stock it holds. The exercise of the registration rights, and subsequent sale of possibly large amounts of our common stock in the public market, could materially and adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

John C. Malone and Advance/Newhouse each have significant voting power with respect to corporate matters considered by our stockholders.

For corporate matters other than the election of directors, Mr. Malone and Advance/Newhouse each beneficially own shares of our stock representing approximately 20% and 23%, respectively, of the aggregate voting power represented by our outstanding stock. With respect to the election of directors, Mr. Malone controls approximately 26% of the aggregate voting power relating to the election of the nine common stock directors (assuming that the convertible preferred stock owned by Advance/Newhouse (the “A/N Preferred Stock”) has not been converted into shares of our common stock). The A/N Preferred Stock carries with it the right to designate three preferred stock directors to our board (subject to certain conditions) but does not carry voting rights with respect to the election of the nine common stock directors. Also, under the terms of the A/N Preferred Stock, Advance/Newhouse has special voting rights as to certain enumerated matters, including material amendments to the restated charter and bylaws, fundamental changes in our business, mergers and other business combinations, certain acquisitions and dispositions and future issuances of capital stock. Although there is no stockholder agreement, voting agreement or any similar arrangement between Mr. Malone and Advance/Newhouse, by virtue of their respective holdings, Mr. Malone and Advance/Newhouse each have significant influence over the outcome of any corporate transaction or other matter submitted to our stockholders.

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General Risks

Theft of our content, including digital copyright theft and other unauthorized exhibitions of our content, may decrease revenue received from our programming and adversely affect our businesses and profitability.

The success of our business depends in part on our ability to maintain and enforce the intellectual property rights underlying our entertainment content. We are fundamentally a content company, and piracy of our content (including digital content), television networks, brands and other intellectual property has the potential to significantly and adversely affect us. Piracy is particularly prevalent in parts of the world that do not effectively enforce intellectual property rights and laws, in contrast to territories such as the U.S. and much of Europe, and the Oceania territories. Even in territories like the U.S., legal frameworks that are unresponsive to modern realities, combined with the lack of effective technological prevention and enforcement measures, may impede our enforcement efforts. Our enforcement activities depend in part on third parties, including technology and platform providers, whose cooperation and effectiveness cannot be assured to any degree. In addition, technological advances that allow the almost instantaneous unauthorized copying and downloading of content into digital formats without any degradation of quality from the original facilitate the rapid creation, transmission and sharing of high-quality unauthorized copies. Unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material over the internet is a threat to copyright owners’ ability to maintain the exclusive control over their copyrighted material and thus the value of their property. The proliferation of unauthorized use of our content may have an adverse effect on our business and profitability because it reduces the revenue that we potentially could receive from the legitimate sale and distribution of our content. We may need to spend significant amounts of money on improvement of technological platform security and enforcement activities, including litigation, to protect our intellectual property rights. Any impairment of our intellectual property rights, including due to changes in U.S. or foreign intellectual property laws or the absence of effective legal protections or enforcement measures, could materially adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Acquisitions and other strategic transactions present many risks and we may not realize the financial and strategic goals that were contemplated at the time of any transaction.

From time to time we make acquisitions, investments and enter into other strategic transactions, such as the Scripps Acquisition and the pending Combination. In connection with such acquisitions and strategic transactions, we may incur unanticipated expenses, fail to realize anticipated benefits, have difficulty incorporating the acquired businesses, disrupt relationships with current and new employees, subscribers, affiliates and vendors, incur significant debt, or have to delay or not proceed with announced transactions. Additionally, regulatory agencies, such as the FCC or U.S. Department of Justice may impose additional restrictions on the operation of our business as a result of our seeking regulatory approvals for any significant acquisitions and strategic transactions. The occurrence of any of these events could have an adverse effect on our business.

Our inability to successfully acquire and integrate other businesses, assets, products or technologies could harm our operating results.

Our success may depend on opportunities to buy other businesses or technologies that could complement, enhance or expand our current business or products or that might otherwise offer us growth opportunities. We have acquired, and have made strategic investments in, a number of companies (including through joint ventures) in the past, such as the Scripps Acquisition, and we expect to make additional acquisitions and strategic investments in the future. Such transactions may result in dilutive issuances of our equity securities, use of our cash resources, and incurrence of debt and amortization expenses related to intangible assets. Any acquisitions and strategic investments that we are able to identify and complete may be accompanied by a number of risks, including:

•the difficulty of assimilating the operations and personnel of acquired companies into our operations;

•the potential disruption of our ongoing business and distraction of management;

•the incurrence of additional operating losses and operating expenses of the businesses we acquired or in which we invested;

•the difficulty of integrating acquired technology and rights into our services and unanticipated expenses related to such integration;

•the failure to successfully further develop an acquired business or technology and any resulting impairment of amounts currently capitalized as intangible assets;

•the failure of strategic investments to perform as expected or to meet financial projections;

•the potential for patent and trademark infringement and data privacy and security claims against the acquired companies, or companies in which we have invested;

•litigation or other claims in connection with acquisitions, acquired companies, or companies in which we have invested;

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•the impairment or loss of relationships with customers and partners of the companies we acquired or in which we invested or with our customers and partners as a result of the integration of acquired operations;

•the impairment of relationships with, or failure to retain, employees of acquired companies or our existing employees as a result of integration of new personnel;

•our lack of, or limitations on our, control over the operations of our joint venture companies;

•the difficulty of integrating operations, systems, and controls as a result of cultural, regulatory, systems, and operational differences;

•in the case of foreign acquisitions and investments, the impact of particular economic, tax, currency, political, legal and regulatory risks associated with specific countries; and

•the impact of known potential liabilities or liabilities that may be unknown, including as a result of inadequate internal controls, associated with the companies we acquired or in which we invested.

Our failure to be successful in addressing these risks or other problems encountered in connection with our past or future acquisitions and strategic investments could cause us to fail to realize the anticipated benefits of such acquisitions or investments, incur unanticipated liabilities, and harm our business generally.

The loss of key personnel or talent could disrupt our business and adversely affect our revenue.

Our business depends upon the continued efforts, abilities and expertise of our corporate and divisional executive teams and entertainment personalities. Following the completion of a merger, like the Scripps Acquisition or the pending Combination, current and prospective employees may experience uncertainty about their future roles with Discovery and choose to pursue other opportunities, which could have an adverse effect on Discovery. If key employees depart, our business may be adversely affected. Additionally, we employ or contract with entertainment personalities who may have loyal audiences. These individuals are important to audience endorsement of our programs and other content. There can be no assurance that these individuals will remain with us or retain their current audiences. If we fail to retain key individuals or if our entertainment personalities lose their current audience base, our operations could be adversely affected.

The market price of our common stock has been highly volatile and may continue to be volatile due to circumstances beyond our control.

The market price of our common stock has fluctuated, and may continue to fluctuate, widely, due to many factors, some of which may be beyond our control. These factors include, without limitation:

•the pendency and completion of the Combination, including AT&T's decision to conduct the Distribution as a pro rata distribution;

•large stockholders exiting their position in our common stock;

•an increase or decrease in the short interest in our common stock;

•comments by securities analysts or other third parties, including blogs, articles, message boards, and social and other media;

•actual or anticipated fluctuations in our financial and operating results;

•risks and uncertainties associated with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic;

•risks and uncertainties related to material effects of climate change;

•development and provision of programming for new television and telecommunications technologies and the success of our discovery+ streaming product;

•spending on domestic and foreign television advertising;

•changes in the distribution and viewing of television programming, including the expanded deployment of personal video recorders, subscription video on demand, internet protocol television, mobile personal devices, and personal tablets and their impact on television advertising revenue;

•fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates;

•public perception of us, our competitors, or industry; and

•overall general market fluctuations.

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Stock markets in general and our stock price in particular have recently experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies and our company. Market fluctuations and anomalous trading activities, including sales of large blocks of our Series A common stock and Series C common stock, have caused and may in the future cause the market price and demand for our common stock to fluctuate substantially, which may negatively affect the price and liquidity of our common stock.