Latest news with #RossBenes
Time of India
09-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Warner Bros Discovery moving towards splitting company: Reports
Warner Bros Discovery is moving towards a potential breakup, CNBC reported on Thursday, as media companies explore options for their struggling cable TV businesses and sharpen focus on their faster-growing streaming and studios divisions. WBD shares surged more than 4% on the news, rebounding from earlier losses of nearly 6% that were triggered by a dour quarterly report. The company missed first-quarter revenue estimates and posted a larger-than-expected loss earlier in the day due to a sluggish box office performance and ongoing declines in cable. The media industry is going through what some executives have called a "general disruption" as millions of subscribers abandon the once-lucrative cable TV for streaming. That has piled pressure on companies to consistently produce hit studio content and boost profitability in their streaming businesses. WBD had laid the groundwork for a possible sale or spinoff of its declining cable TV assets in December by announcing a separation from its streaming and studio operations. It reported results under the new structure for the first time on Thursday. A split will align the company with Comcast, which is spinning off most of its cable TV networks such as MSNBC and CNBC to position itself for growth in the streaming era. Analysts have long speculated about a break-up of WBD, formed by the 2022 merger between Warner Media and Discovery. "WBD would be leaner and have stronger growth potential without cable assets. But finding a buyer could be difficult. Linear TV is deteriorating and WBD has big debts," said eMarketer analyst Ross Benes. WBD, which has $38 billion of gross debt, did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on the CNBC report. STREAMING BOOMS, STUDIO DISAPPOINTS Its CEO David Zaslav said on Thursday the company's programming strength was helping Max attract subscribers in a crowded market for streaming services . WBD added 5.3 million streaming subscribers in the January-March quarter, more than the 3.1 million estimated by analysts, taking its total to 122.3 million. Its content slate in the period included the third season of HBO's "The White Lotus" and the medical drama series "The Pitt". Still, its results were hampered by a weak showing at the box office as WBD struggled to replicate the success of last year's "Dune: Part Two," which grossed more than $700 million. Its marquee release for the period, Bong Joon Ho's sci-fi dark comedy "Mickey 17," earned only slightly more than its reported budget at the box office. Studio revenue fell 18% to $2.31 billion, missing estimates of $2.73 billion, according to Visible Alpha. The company has, however, made a strong start to the second quarter with Ryan Coogler's horror film "Sinners" and the blockbuster "A Minecraft Movie," which has raked in around $900 million globally, making it the biggest release of 2025 so far. Revenue at the TV networks segment, which includes CNN, Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, fell 7%. Overall, revenue fell 10% to $8.98 billion, missing analysts' average estimate of $9.60 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. Loss of 18 cents per share was also larger than expectations for a 13 cent loss.
TimesLIVE
09-05-2025
- Business
- TimesLIVE
Warner Bros Discovery moving towards splitting company, CNBC reports
WBD had laid the groundwork for a possible sale or spin-off of its declining cable TV assets in December by announcing a separation from its streaming and studio operations. It reported results under the new structure for the first time on Thursday. A split will align the company with Comcast, which is spinning off most of its cable TV networks such as MSNBC and CNBC to position itself for growth in the streaming era. Analysts have long speculated about a break-up of WBD, formed by the 2022 merger between Warner Media and Discovery. 'WBD would be leaner and have stronger growth potential without cable assets. But finding a buyer could be difficult. Linear TV is deteriorating and WBD has big debts,' said eMarketer analyst Ross Benes. WBD, which has $38bn (R693.4bn) of gross debt, did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on the CNBC report. Its CEO David Zaslav said on Thursday the company's programming strength was helping Max attract subscribers in a crowded market for streaming services. WBD added 5.3-million streaming subscribers in the January to March quarter, more than the 3.1-million estimated by analysts, taking its total to 122.3-million. Its content slate in the period included the third season of HBO's The White Lotus and the medical drama series The Pitt. However, its results were hampered by a weak showing at the box office as WBD struggled to replicate the success of last year's Dune: Part Two, which grossed more than $700m (R12,7-trillion). Its marquee release for the period, Bong Joon Ho's sci-fi dark comedy Mickey 17, earned only slightly more than its reported budget at the box office. Studio revenue fell 18% to $2.3bn, missing estimates of $2.7bn, according to Visible Alpha. The company has, however, made a strong start to the second quarter with Ryan Coogler's horror film Sinners and the blockbuster A Minecraft Movie, which has raked in around $900 million globally, making it the biggest release of 2025 so far. Revenue at the TV networks segment, which includes CNN, Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, fell 7%. Overall, revenue fell 10% to $8.98bn, missing analysts' average estimate of $9.60bn, according to data compiled by LSEG. Loss of 18c per share was also larger than expectations for a 13c loss.
Los Angeles Times
17-04-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Netflix posts strong earnings despite economic headwinds
Rising economic uncertainty amid a global trade war did little to dampen Netflix's financial results in the first quarter. The Los Gatos-based streaming giant said its first quarter revenue grew 13% to $10.5 billion, fueled by membership growth and higher prices. Net income jumped 24% to $2.89 billion in the quarter, well ahead of the $2.48 billion that analysts had forecast, according to FactSet. The robust growth provided further evidence of Netflix's dominance in the streaming market during an uncertain economy. 'In times when consumers may be scrutinizing their spending on streaming services, expert sentiment remains consistent: Netflix will continue to be the default platform and the last to be cut by the vast majority of users,' said John Conca, an analyst at investment research firm Third Bridge. Netflix stock rose 1% on Thursday, closing at $973.03 a share. Earlier this year, Netflix raised prices on certain subscription plans in the U.S., including for its lower cost ad-supported plan, which has been growing. During the first quarter, Netflix became home to 'WWE Raw,' which analysts said helped boost the streamer's advertising and drew significant viewership. Some analysts said they believe Netflix will weather any pullback in the advertising market caused by global trade disputes. Netflix launched its cheaper ad-supported tier in 2022 and it is still a small, but growing, part of its business. 'Because Netflix relies on advertising less than most of its competitors do, in some ways it will be less exposed to tariffs that constrict upfront commitments,' said Ross Benes, senior analyst at research firm EMarketer. 'I don't think the macro economic problems the world is facing are going to hit them.' Programs that Netflix launched in the first quarter included limited series drama 'Adolescence,' about a 13-year-old boy suspected of murdering his classmate. The series has drawn 124.2 million views so far and is ranked third in Netflix's most popular English language shows of all time, surpassing the first season of Regency romance series 'Bridgerton.' Other shows that launched in the first quarter included the Shondaland mystery series 'The Residence,' reality TV program 'Million Dollar Secret,' Kate Hudson comedy series 'Running Point' and romance movie 'The Life List.' 'We're executing on our 2025 priorities: improving our series and film offering and growing our ads business; further developing newer initiatives like live programming and games; and sustaining healthy revenue and profit growth,' Netflix said in a letter to shareholders on Thursday. Last year, Netflix said it had more than 301 million subscribers.
