Warner Bros. Discovery is counting on deregulation to unlock media deals — if there's even appetite

Every large media merger has led to tens of billions in lost value for shareholders in the last five years .

Comcast CEO: Government has scared potential buyers of media assets away from deal-making.

Media and tech companies may not want to buy smaller rivals for their content, or are they simply uninterested in assets.

The value of the assets have dramatically declined in the past five years .

Disney acquired the majority of Fox 's assets for $71 billion in 2019 .

Viacom and CBS merged in 2019 , valuing the combined company at about $30 billion .

AMC Networks , owner of cable networks including AMC , IFC, We TV, and Sundance TV , are down about 80% in the last five years . Lionsgate stock is down more than 35% .

Last year's total media deal volume was $51 billion , and 2022 's was $35 billion .

The rut appears likely to continue, with just $22 billion in media deals announced so far in 2024 .

Legacy media companies may be scared away from attempting transformational transactions because the time of approval is so lengthy.