# Warner Bros. > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Warner_Bros. > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Warner_Bros..md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warner_Bros. > Source revision: 1354518539 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Brand and corporate history article}} {{About|the brand and its corporate history|the modern entertainment corporation|Warner Bros. Entertainment|the now-independent music recording corporation|Warner Music Group}} {{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}} [[File:Warner_Bros._Discovery_(symbol).svg|thumb|Logo used since 2022 by [Warner Bros. Discovery](/source/Warner_Bros._Discovery),{{Cite web |last=Burgos |first=Matthew |date=May 4, 2023 |title=warner bros. logo gets a thicker, bolder, and sharper look from chermayeff & geismar & haviv |url=https://www.designboom.com/design/warner-bros-new-logo-chermayeff-geismar-haviv-05-04-2023/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230504233437/https://www.designboom.com/design/warner-bros-new-logo-chermayeff-geismar-haviv-05-04-2023/ |archive-date=May 4, 2023 |access-date=May 4, 2023 |website=[Designboom](/source/Designboom)}} the current corporate parent of [Warner Bros. Entertainment](/source/Warner_Bros._Entertainment), which includes the longstanding [film](/source/Warner_Bros._Pictures) and [television studios](/source/Warner_Bros._Television_Studios)]] [[File:Warner_Music_Group_logo_(2021).svg|thumb|The logo of [Warner Music Group](/source/Warner_Music_Group), which has been an independent company since 2004. It was one of several companies that were [spun off](/source/Corporate_spin-off) by [Time Warner](/source/Time_Warner) in the mid-2000s but continued using the Warner name, but as of 2026 it is the only one to still do so.]] '''Warner Bros.'''{{efn|Pronounced "''Warner Brothers''".{{cite book |last=Thomson |first=David |author1-link=David Thomson (film critic) |title=Warner Bros: The Making of an American Movie Studio |date=2017 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven |isbn=9780300197600 |page=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OaYsDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1 |access-date=August 17, 2023}} The abbreviated form is always used in writing, except when referring to the four Warner brothers themselves.{{Cite book |last1=Gomery |first1=Douglas |authorlink1=Douglas Gomery|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s0PP2Gm8xNcC&pg=PA150 |title=Movie History: A Survey |last2=Pafort-Overduin |first2=Clara |date=2011 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781136835254 |edition=2nd |location=New York |page=150 |via=[Google Books](/source/Google_Books) |access-date=March 20, 2023 |archive-date=April 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409130025/https://books.google.com/books?id=s0PP2Gm8xNcC&pg=PA150 |url-status=live}} It is never read out loud as "Warner Bros" (-⁠BROHZ or similarly); the opening voiceover of ''[The Lego Batman Movie](/source/The_Lego_Batman_Movie)'' (2017) alludes to this common mistake.{{Cite web |date=February 4, 2017 |title=The LEGO Batman Movie review: everything is awesome! |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a820489/lego-batman-movie-review-everything-is-awesome/ |access-date=2026-02-10 |website=[Digital Spy](/source/Digital_Spy) |language=en}}}} is a brand name that has been used by several [multinational](/source/multinational_corporation) [mass media](/source/mass_media) and [entertainment](/source/outline_of_entertainment) companies and corporations, mostly based in the United States, with attributions to [Warner Bros. Pictures](/source/Warner_Bros._Pictures), [a major American film studio](/source/major_film_studios) founded on April 4, 1923 and the original namesake. As of 2026, [Warner Bros. Discovery](/source/Warner_Bros._Discovery) owns the motion picture and television assets derived from the original Warner Bros. studio, while the latter's original recorded music arm, [Warner Records](/source/Warner_Records) (formerly known as Warner Bros. Records), now a flagship subsidiary of [Warner Music Group](/source/Warner_Music_Group), has been independently owned since 2004. Several other former subsidiaries and divisions have been spun off or sold, but no longer use the Warner name. == Historical overview == [Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.](/source/Early_history_of_Warner_Bros._Pictures) was founded on April 4, 1923, by the brothers [Harry](/source/Harry_Warner), [Albert](/source/Albert_Warner), [Sam](/source/Sam_Warner), and [Jack Warner](/source/Jack_L._Warner), replacing their previous company, Warner Features Company, founded in 1910.{{Cite web |title=Warner Bros. |url=https://californiamuseum.org/inductee/warner-bros/ |access-date=2025-12-23 |website=California Museum |language=en-US}} Jack Warner took full control of the company in 1956.{{Cite web |last=Yogerst |first=Chris |date=2023-12-22 |title=When Warner Bros. First Left the Family: Betrayal and High Drama In a Classic Hollywood Megadeal |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/warner-brothers-sell-1956-1235768464/ |access-date=2025-12-23 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}} During this time, the company began activities in animation ([Warner Bros. Cartoons](/source/Warner_Bros._Cartoons)), television ([Warner Bros. Television Studios](/source/Warner_Bros._Television_Studios)){{cite web |title=Company History |url=https://www.warnerbros.com/studio/about/company-history |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926073602/http://www.warnerbros.com/studio/about/company-history |archive-date=26 September 2015 |access-date=30 August 2015 |publisher=warnerbros.com}} and music publishing ([Warner Bros. Music](/source/Warner_Bros._Music)).{{Cite book |last1=Warner |first1=Jack |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=xTzOB_MbMvgC}} |title=Hollywood be Thy Name: The Warner Brothers Story |last2=Sperling |first2=Cass Warner |last3=Millner |first3=Cork |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |year=1998 |isbn=0-8131-0958-2 |pages=147}} [Seven Arts Productions](/source/Seven_Arts_Productions) merged with Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. in 1967 to form [Warner Bros.-Seven Arts](/source/Warner_Bros.-Seven_Arts).{{Cite news |date=1967-07-18 |title=Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, Ltd., Chooses Hyman as Chairman |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/07/18/archives/warner-brosseven-arts-ltd-chooses-hyman-as-chairman.html |access-date=2025-11-08 |work=The New York Times |language=en}} [Kinney National Company](/source/Kinney_National_Company) then purchased Warner Bros.-Seven Arts in 1969 as part of a buying spree that also included [National Periodical Publications](/source/National_Periodical_Publications) (predecessor to [DC Comics](/source/DC_Comics)), Television Communications Corporation (predecessor to [Time Warner Cable](/source/Time_Warner_Cable)) and [Paperback Library](/source/Paperback_Library) (predecessor to [Warner Books](/source/Hachette_Book_Group)).{{cite news |last1=Hammer |first1=Alexander R. |date=November 23, 1971 |title=Kinney-TVC Terms Shift |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/11/23/archives/kinneytvc-terms-shift-kinneytvc-pact-on-link-changed.html |work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)}} After [spinning off](/source/National_Kinney_Corporation) its non-media assets, Kinney National Company was renamed Warner Communications, which merged with [Time Inc.](/source/Time_Inc.) in 1990 to form [Time Warner](/source/Time_Warner). In the mid-2000s, Time Warner spun off or sold several Warner-derived or branded divisions as independent companies, most notably [Warner Music Group](/source/Warner_Music_Group) (which remains independent {{As of|2026|lc=y}}) and Time Warner Cable (later acquired by [Charter Communications](/source/Charter_Communications)), while Warner Books was sold to [Hachette Livre](/source/Hachette_Livre). During this time, Time Warner's film and television assets were incorporated into a new [Warner Bros. Entertainment](/source/Warner_Bros._Entertainment) subsidiary on December 3, 2002.{{Cite web |last=Kobrin |first=Janet A. |date=2007-02-26 |title=Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. v. The Kaplan Trust: Declaration of Janet A. Kobrin |url=https://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-92043813-CAN-41.pdf#PAGE=20 |access-date=2026-01-01 |website=U.S. Patent and Trademark Office}} Time Warner, much reduced in scope at this point, was [acquired](/source/acquisition_of_Time_Warner_by_AT%26T) by [AT&T](/source/AT%26T) on June 15, 2018, and renamed [WarnerMedia](/source/WarnerMedia).{{Cite web |date=June 15, 2018 |title=Time Warner is changing its name to WarnerMedia; Turner CEO to depart |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/15/time-warner-is-changing-its-name-to-warnermedia-turner-ceo-to-depart.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200320102836/https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/15/time-warner-is-changing-its-name-to-warnermedia-turner-ceo-to-depart.html |archive-date=March 20, 2020 |access-date=June 15, 2018 |website=[CNBC](/source/CNBC)}} AT&T then sold WarnerMedia to [Discovery, Inc.](/source/Discovery%2C_Inc.) to form [Warner Bros. Discovery](/source/Warner_Bros._Discovery) on April 8, 2022.{{cite web |last=Maas |first=Jennifer |date=April 8, 2022 |title=Discovery Closes Acquisition of AT&T's WarnerMedia |url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/discovery-warnermedia-merger-close-warner-bros-discovery-1235200983/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408211723/https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/discovery-warnermedia-merger-close-warner-bros-discovery-1235200983/ |archive-date=April 8, 2022 |access-date=April 8, 2022 |website=[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine)) |publisher=[Penske Media Corporation](/source/Penske_Media_Corporation)}} == List of entities derived from Warner Bros. == The following entities have used the Warner name and have been derived from or affiliated with the original Warner Bros. Pictures studio. The film studio: * [History of Warner Bros. Pictures](/source/History_of_Warner_Bros._Pictures) (1923–1967) * [Warner Bros.-Seven Arts](/source/Warner_Bros.-Seven_Arts) (1967–1969) * [Warner Bros. Pictures](/source/Warner_Bros._Pictures) (1969–present) Animation studios: * [Warner Bros. Cartoons](/source/Warner_Bros._Cartoons) (1929–1963) * [Warner Bros. Animation](/source/Warner_Bros._Animation) (1980–present) * [Warner Bros. Pictures Animation](/source/Warner_Bros._Pictures_Animation) (2013–present) Television studio: * [Warner Bros. Television Studios](/source/Warner_Bros._Television_Studios) (1955–present) Corporate parents: * [WarnerMedia](/source/WarnerMedia), previously known as Warner Communications, Time Warner, Time Warner Entertainment and AOL Time Warner (1972–2022) * [Warner Bros. Discovery](/source/Warner_Bros._Discovery) (2022–present) * [Warner Bros. Entertainment](/source/Warner_Bros._Entertainment) (subsidiary corporation, 2002–present) Subsidiaries that were spun off: * [Warner Music Group](/source/Warner_Music_Group) ** [Warner Records](/source/Warner_Records), previously known as Warner Bros. Records ** [Warner Chappell Music](/source/Warner_Chappell_Music) * [Time Warner Cable](/source/Time_Warner_Cable) * [Time Warner Telecom](/source/TW_Telecom) * [Warner Books](/source/Hachette_Book_Group) == Notes == {{notelist}} == References == {{Reflist}} {{Set index article}} * --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Warner Bros.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warner_Bros.) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warner_Bros.?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.