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Warner Bros. Discovery CEO on Friday provided an update on the US streaming profitability timeline.
Both in the company’s first-quarter earnings release and in a conversation with analysts, David Zaslav announced that profitability of its US direct-to-consumer business will come in “a year ahead of our guidance.” Now the company is anticipating that in 2023, he said.
He said during the call that Warner Bros. Discovery has “strong leadership and control” over its entire streaming business, adding that the company “feels[s] really good about the path we’re on.”
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav speaks onstage during the Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront 2022 Show at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on May 18, 2022 in New York City. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery/Getty Images)
Warner Bros. Discovery’s total direct-to-consumer segment generated total revenue of $2.46 billion with operating expenses of $2.41 billion in the first quarter.
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In adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), the entire streaming segment, which includes HBO, HBO Max and Discovery+, made $50 million. In the same quarter last year, the company reported an Adjusted EBITDA loss of $654 million on a “pro forma combined basis.”
Warner Bros. Discovery had 97.6 million subscribers in the first quarter, including 55.3 million domestic and 42.3 million overseas. That’s an increase of 1.6 million subscribers quarter-over-quarter and 7 million year-over-year.
Zaslav told analysts and investors the company has “turned the tide in our streaming business.”
| ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WBD | WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY INC. | 12.89 | +0.56 | +4.54% |
“We’ve been very focused on that and we’ve built what we think is a very strong, independent company, and it starts with profitability,” he said. “And that’s how we made $50 million that quarter. Our US streaming business will be profitable for the year and we have real scale.”
The US direct-to-consumer business is “no longer a bleeder,” he added.
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Warner Bros. Discovery said first-quarter revenue fell to $10.7 billion from a year earlier.
The Warner Bros. logo in front of the Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank, California September 30, 2008. (Amy T. Zielinski/Getty Images/Getty Images)
It posted a net loss of $1.07 billion, a figure the company also said included “$1,810 million in pre-tax amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets and $95 million in pre-tax restructuring charges.” ‘ according to the press release.
In this photo illustration the HBO Max and Discovery+ logos viewed on a smartphone screen on August 5, 2022. (Photo illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Warner Bros. Discovery executives also spoke Friday about the upcoming streaming platform, which will bring together content from HBO Max and Discovery+. The platform will be named Max.
WARNER BROS DISCOVERY REVEALS DETAILS OF MAX STREAMING PLATFORM AND SETS RELEASE DATE
Max’s US debut is scheduled for May 23, which Zaslav said he was “excited about”. According to the CEO, this will be followed by a rollout in Latin America “later this year and markets in EMEA and APAC in 2024”.