Every few months it seems, Discovery Communications appears to be doing things that only mean one thing…they’re going public. Annys Shinn had an article yesterday that explored the latest round of rumormill grist – Divining Signs of Change at Discovery. This time, however, things seem to be a little more tangible.

I saw a glimpse into this world at the end of 2000: they were massively scaling back on DCI provided training – a sure sign to potential shareholders that a company is not interested in giving away training to unloyal worker-drones that might jump ship and go use that training at a competing firm. This going public business sounds like being in a relationship with someone you & everyone else, knows is bad for you, but you do it anyway. More recently, another rumor I heard had a few top executives from Ruppert Murdoch’s News Corp. in the DCI HQ for some high-level talks about a sale. Boy, that would be a big mistake…

Something from yesterday’s article that stood out for me was this quote from John Malone about the recent restructuring efforts, [it will] “further consolidate the industry or take advantage of acquisition opportunities in the business that will extend their reach both domestically and internationally.” Today another Washington Post Business Section article (Media Firms Piece Together New Strategies) is all about how further consolidation is exactly what this industry doesn’t need. Bigger is only better in terms of your bank account.