Warner Bros. Discovery stated on Monday that two members of its board of administrators, Steven Newhouse and Steven Miron, had stepped down after the corporate discovered about an investigation into whether or not their presence on the board violated antitrust regulation.
Federal regulation forbids most company officers and board members to concurrently serve on the boards of their opponents.
Mr. Newhouse and Mr. Miron are each executives at Advance, a non-public, family-held enterprise whose holdings embrace the Condé Nast shiny journal empire that publishes titles akin to Vogue and The New Yorker.
Advance can be one of many greatest shareholders of Constitution Communications, a cable firm that, like Warner Bros. Discovery, sells streaming companies to its clients. Mr. Miron has served on Constitution’s board of administrators since earlier than Warner Bros. Discovery made its debut in 2022, and a relative of Mr. Newhouse’s additionally serves on the board.
An announcement from Warner Bros. Discovery stated Mr. Miron and Mr. Newhouse had resigned from the 13-seat board with out admitting any violation, “reasonably than to contest the matter.”
Mr. Newhouse and Mr. Miron are additionally long-serving advisers to David Zaslav, the chief govt of Warner Bros. Discovery, and every has deep expertise within the media enterprise.
The Justice Division stated in a press release that Mr. Miron’s and the Newhouse household’s seats on the Warner Bros. Discovery and Constitution boards have been most likely violations of antitrust regulation.
“In the present day’s announcement is a win for shoppers,” stated Michael Kades, deputy assistant legal professional basic of the division’s antitrust division.
U.S. regulators have been pushing in recent times to implement the nation’s antitrust legal guidelines extra aggressively. The Justice Division and the Federal Commerce Fee have filed lawsuits arguing that main firms, together with tech giants like Apple and Google, are abusive monopolies. The businesses have additionally blocked mergers and acquisitions, together with Penguin Random Home’s tried buy of Simon & Schuster and the JetBlue Airways acquisition of Spirit Airways.
The Justice Division has additionally elevated its enforcement of the regulation that forbids an individual to function a director for opponents. Final 12 months, the company introduced that two Pinterest board members had resigned from the board of Nextdoor, the neighborhood social community, on account of its efforts.
In a press release, Mr. Zaslav thanked Mr. Newhouse and Mr. Miron for his or her service on the Warner Bros. Discovery board, citing their “sensible counsel and large business perception.”
“We’re enormously grateful for his or her steadfast help and need them the perfect,” Mr. Zaslav stated.
