In its poor fourth-quarter report released yesterday, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) revealed a net loss of $2.1 billion, including $217 million from its streaming business. The Last of Us, a new original series from the business, has an average audience of over 15 million people. Meanwhile, the recently released computer game Hogwarts Legacy has generated over $850 million in retail sales in just two weeks. made money.
The company’s earnings of $11 billion, a huge increase from $9.82 billion in the third quarter of 2022, just just beat expert projections of roughly $11.36 billion in revenue. Additionally, the streaming sector saw a 6% increase in revenue to $2.45 billion, exceeding Wall Street’s prediction of $2.39 billion.
The company also failed to beat subscriber estimates, adding just 1.1 million subscribers to HBO, HBO Max and Discovery+ versus a forecast 1.6 million net additions, bringing the new total to 96.1 million. WBD also missed expectations last quarter, adding just 2.8 million subscribers instead of the expected net increase of 3.27 million. WBD is still behind streaming giant Netflix, which has 230 million subscribers worldwide.
The addition of HBO Max subscribers was primarily driven by the streaming service’s return to Amazon Prime Video Channels, as well as the debuts of popular shows like The Last of Us and the 10-winning second season of The White Lotus Emmys and two Golden Globe Awards. The company recently announced that The Last of Us is getting a second season.
However, HBO Max and Discovery+ have yet to become profitable for WBD — which puts it in the same boat as other media companies. Netflix, on the other hand, made a profit.
On the plus side, WBD CEO David Zaslav told investors that the merger-related restructuring was finally complete. In the past 10 months, in addition to many film and TV cancellations, the company has also made layoffs in order to reduce its mountain of debt.
“We have taken bold and decisive action over the last 10 months and most of our restructuring is behind us. We are in full control of our business and are now a corporation. We have a fantastic leadership team that is pushing us forward, everyone is rowing in the same direction. And together we are focused on making our businesses better and stronger,” Zaslav said during the conference call. “The past year was a year of restructuring. 2023 will be a year of construction.”
Regarding the merger, Zaslav announced that the new streaming service HBO Max/Discovery+ will launch in the next few months. The company will provide further details during a special press event on April 12.
He also confirmed that Discovery+ would remain a standalone service for customers who wish to continue paying the lower price of $4.99 per month. Meanwhile, HBO Max will continue to be paired with Discovery+ content. Last month, WBD increased the price of HBO Max’s ad-free plan for the first time, increasing the cost from $14.99 to $15.99 per month.
Now that WBD is done with the reorganization, it can focus on expanding its original content catalogue. For example, Zaslav revealed exciting news for Lord of the Rings fans, announcing that Warner Bros Studios has struck a deal to make several films based on the franchise.
The company will also “make full use of its other intellectual property rights,” including “Superman,” “Batman,” and “Harry Potter,” Zaslav said.
Recently, DC Studios Co-Chairs James Gunn and Peter Safran unveiled 10 upcoming film and television projects, including Superman: Legacy, The Batman – Part II, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, and more .
“I believe that with the intellectual property that we own, we have an overwhelming advantage in the market,” added Zaslav. “We have the strongest hand in the industry, with the broadest portfolio of assets and world-renowned franchises, personalities and storytelling IP in sports, news, nonfiction and entertainment, in virtually every region of the world and in every language. “
Titles coming this year are Shazam! Fury of the Gods, which hits theaters March 17; The Flash, which debuts June 16 this summer; and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, starring Jason Momoa, which premieres December 25. Other films include the Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, Dune: Part Two and Timothée Chalamet in Wonka.
Yesterday, prior to the conference call, HBO announced that it has ordered an IT-inspired Max original series called Welcome to Derry, which will be a prequel to the 2017 IT movie and IT Chapter Two.
