Investing.com -- S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI ) Ratings has downgraded the issuer credit rating of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. (NASDAQ: WBD ) to 'BB+' due to weakening credit metrics. The rating agency also lowered its short-term and debt ratings for the media company. The downgrade followed a revised forecast for WBD for the years 2025 and 2026, mainly due to ongoing revenue and cash flow declines at the company's linear TV operations. The S&P Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA for WBD is now expected to remain around $9 billion for the next three years. Consequently, the leverage for the company is projected to be 4.3x by the end of 2025, significantly higher than the 3.5x leverage threshold for the rating. The leverage is not expected to fall below 3.5x until 2027. The stable outlook is based on the expectation that the revenue and EBITDA declines in WBD's linear networks will be offset by growth in its streaming and studio segments.