David Zaslav Shares Farewell Video to Warner Bros. Discovery Employees

David Zaslav, four and a half years after closing the debt-burdened deal that formed Warner Bros. Discovery, is bidding farewell to the company’s employees as it is about to get swallowed up by David Ellison’s Paramount — to create a media giant saddled with even more debt.

Zaslav, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, shared a video with employees Monday expressing gratitude for their hard work and creativity over the years. (The video, viewed by Variety, is available only on WBD’s internal portal.) Zaslav will exit with the megamerger of Paramount and WBD, scheduled to close Oct. 6, with the new Ellison-run company adopting the name Skydance Corp.

In the video, Zaslav sits alone in a director’s chair in the Loft warehouse at Warner Bros. Studios’ Ranch facility in Burbank, California.

“For me, it’s been a great honor to be alongside all of you,” Zaslav says, speaking to the camera in the 3-minute video. “I hope you take pride in what you’ve built, what you’ve created, and the role you’ve played in shaping an extraordinary history.” (Read the transcript of his message below.)

Zaslav’s video includes a montage of Warner Bros. Discovery’s greatest hits, featuring clips from “The Pitt,” “The Lego Movie,” “Barbie,” “One Battle After Another,” “Dune,” “Hacks,” “Friends,” “The House of the Dragon,” “White Lotus,” “Abbott Elementary,” “Sinners” and (of course!) “Harry Potter,” as well as shots from CNN and WBD’s sports programming. According to a company source, Zaslav wanted to share his goodbye message as a video rather than a text memo in order to capture the visuals.

“I can’t wait to see what you do in the years ahead,” Zaslav says. “I’m so grateful for all these years at Warner Bros. Discovery, for the wonderful experiences creating content, telling stories and getting to know so many of you.”

Zaslav has been among the…