Business Express is an online portal that covers the latest developments in the world of business and finance. From startups and entrepreneurship to mergers and acquisitions, Business Express provides reporting on the stories that matter most to business leaders and decision-makers.The website publishes news, press releases, opinion and advertorials on various financial organizations, products and services which are commissioned from various Companies, Organizations, PR agencies, Bloggers etc. These commissioned articles are commercial in nature. This is not to be considered as financial advice and should be considered only for information purposes. It does not reflect the views or opinion of our website and is not to be considered an endorsement or a recommendation. We cannot guarantee the accuracy or applicability of any information provided with respect to your individual or personal circumstances. Please seek Professional advice from a qualified professional before making any financial decisions. We link to various third-party websites, affiliate sales networks, and to our advertising partners websites. When you view or click on certain links available on our articles, our partners may compensate us for displaying the content to you or make a purchase or fill a form. This will not incur any additional charges to you. To make things simpler for you to identity or distinguish advertised or sponsored articles or links, you may consider all articles or links hosted on our site as a commercial article placement. We will not be responsible for any loss you may suffer as a result of any omission or inaccuracy on the website.
2022 04 26T110755Z 2 LYNXNPEI3P0GD RTROPTP 4 FRANCE MIPCOM
2022 04 26T110755Z 2 LYNXNPEI3P0GD RTROPTP 4 FRANCE MIPCOM

Warner Bros Discovery adds 2 million subscribers in first quarter


By Eva Mathews and Helen Coster

(Reuters) -Warner Bros Discovery said on Tuesday it added about 2 million paid streaming subscribers in the first quarter, at a time when industry pioneer Netflix lost subscribers for the first time in more than a decade.

In the first set of results from the media giant forged by a $43 billion merger between Discovery Inc and AT&T Inc’s WarnerMedia assets, the TLC and Eurosport channel owner said quarterly revenue rose 13% to $3.16 billion, helped by a rebound in ad spending and the Beijing Winter Olympics.

The results did not include figures for WarnerMedia, home to the Harry Potter and Batman franchises, pay TV channels such as CNN and streaming service HBO Max.

In a call with investors, Chief Financial Officer Gunnar Wiedenfels said 2022 will “undoubtedly be a messy year.” He estimated that the WarnerMedia part of the company’s profit baseline for 2022 will be around $500 million lower than what he had anticipated, offset by a “couple of hundred million dollars” on the Discovery side of the company.

Wiedenfels reaffirmed the company’s goal of achieving $3 billion in cost savings, citing the recent decision to cancel CNN+ as an example. “A lot of synergy potential is really going to come from cost avoidance and elimination of planned expenses for the streaming business,” he said.

Don't miss out on any breaking news or insightful opinions!
Subscribe to our free newsletter and stay updated on the go!


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Global Banking & Finance Review. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email.

In the three months before the merger’s close, the number of total paid streaming subscribers – including those from Discovery+ – rose to a total of 24 million.

Across the sector, Wall Street is starting to question streaming’s long-term prospects following a lightning surge during the pandemic. Those concerns were compounded after Netflix Inc’s disappointing results and outlook.

Last week, Warner Bros Discovery said it would shut down its CNN+ streaming service less than a month after it got off to a slow start, reportedly attracting just 10,000 viewers a day.

Net income available to the company rose to $456 million, or 69 cents per share, from $140 million, or 21 cents per share, a year earlier.

Shares of the company were trading 4.2% lower before the bell on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru and Helen Coster in New York; Editing by Devika Syamnath, Louise Heavens and Tomasz Janowski)

Recent Post: