Three years after WarnerMedia joined Discovery Inc., the media conglomerate created from that merger says it needs to be nimbler to compete. Warner Bros. Discovery is saying That’s all, folks.

This week’s effective break-up of the US media group after just three years has left staff exasperated as the swashbuckling pay television era disintegrates.

S&P Global downgraded the media giant's unsecured bonds, put it on a negative credit watch and will review whether to lower the company's other ratings