On June 26, 2024, Georgia, a sign outside the Warner Brothers Discovery Turner Broadcasting campus in Atlanta.
Kevin Dietsch | Getty images
Warner Bros discovery. Said on Thursday, he added 6.4 million global transmission subscribers in the fourth quarter for a total of 116.9 million subscribers.
The revenues of the fourth quarter for the transmission segment, which is anchored by the Max flagship service, totaled $ 2.65 billion, 5% more than $ 2.53 billion in the same quarter last year. The proceeds adjusted before the interest, the taxes, the depreciation and the amortization of the unit reached $ 409 million, compared to an adjusted loss of Ebitda of $ 55 million in the fourth quarter of 2023.
In a shareholder letter, the media and entertainment company predicted an adjusted EBITDA of $ 1.3 billion for its transmission business for the year: approximately twice as much of $ 677 million of adjusted Ebitda that reported by 2024, and said it has a “clear path” to reach 150 million global subscribers at the end of 2026. Germany and Italy in the first quarter of that year.
“In this generational media interruption, only global streamers will survive and prosper, and Max is just that,” said CEO David Zaslav about the company's profit call on Thursday.
WBD announced Wednesday that Max would maintain its B/R Sports and CNN content available at no additional cost for subscribers at their standard and premium levels. Initially, WBD planned to collect an additional cost for sports.
However, it will extract both verticals from its basic level and supported by ads as of March 30.
In the earning calls, JB Perrette, CEO and president of Global Streaming and Games, said the company would continue to experiment with its news and sports business models.
While sports have increased their presence in recently transmission services, with platforms such as Netflix In addition to its live sports portfolios, Zaslav said the company is more focused on maximizing its yields than acquiring more sports content.
Warner Bros. Discovery is losing the distribution rights of the United States to the Games of the National Basketball Association from next season. It still has an American sports portfolio that includes the France Open, Major League Baseball, College Football and the National Hockey League.
“We do not need more sports anywhere in the world to support our business,” said Zaslav, adding that he hopes it is more difficult to obtain sports rights with increasing prices and competitions.
At the front of the news, Zaslav said that Warner Bros. Discovery expected CNN to see more benefits of the 2024 presidential elections that finally did not materialize. CNN, together with MSNBC, saw its classifications fall dramatically after the elections, while Fox News enjoyed strong grades in that period.
WBD shares increased almost 5% on Thursday.
This is how Warner Bros. Discovery worked in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to what Wall Street expected, based on a LSEG analysts survey:
- Loss by action: 20 cents against profits per action of 1 centa expected
- Revenue: $ 10.03 billion compared to $ 10.19 billion expected
The general income of the Fourth quarter of WBD fell 2% to $ 10.03 billion of $ 10.28 billion during the same quarter in 2023. The income of the year 2024 reached $ 39.32 billion, 5% of $ 41.32 billion in 2023.
Warner Bros. Discovery reported a net loss of $ 494 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, or a loss of 20 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $ 400 million, or a loss of 16 cents per share, during the fourth quarter of 2023.
TV Networks revenues reached $ 4.77 billion, compared to $ 5.04 billion in the period of year and more. The company previously wrote $ 9.1 billion for its network business in its profit report of 2024 in the second quarter. In his shareholders letter, Warner Bros. Discovery said that he expects additional decreases in cable subscribers and that the advertising market for US linear television is being reduced faster than expected.
For the study business, the revenues of the fourth quarter totaled $ 3.66 billion, a 15% increase of $ 3.17 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023.
“We are focused on the laser so that our studies return to a place of leadership of the industry,” Zaslav said.
Disclosure: MSNBC and CNBC are nbcuniversal divisions.
