Warner Bros Discovery misses quarterly revenue estimates

WARNER Bros Discovery fell short of Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue on Friday (Feb 23), weighed down by the absence of blockbuster releases due to the lingering impact from the Hollywood strikes and a weak advertising market.

Despite the twin summer Hollywood strikes by writers and actors coming to an end, studios are still facing delays in the release of new content, especially given the lengthy post-production process.

The media company, forged by the union of WarnerMedia and Discovery, reported overall fourth-quarter revenue of US$10.28 billion, missing analysts’ average estimate of US$10.35 billion, according to LSEG data.

Customers’ shift to streaming from linear TV has shackled the company as it seeks to boost growth at its streaming services while staving off declines at its cable business.

Advertising revenue at its networks segment declined 12 per cent to US$1.95 billion.

Warner Bros Discovery had 97.7 million global streaming customers at the end of the quarter, up from 95.1 million in the previous quarter. REUTERS