By Dean Seal
Warner Brothers Discovery recorded a smaller loss in the first quarter but lower sales as weakness in the linear TV business offset gains in the streaming business.
The media and entertainment company posted a loss of $453 million, compared with a loss of $966 million in the same quarter a year earlier. The bottom line included $1.6 billion in pre-tax acquisition-related amortizations, step-ups in content fair value and restructuring costs.
Per-share, the loss was 18 cents. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had been expecting a loss of 19 cents a share. The company said total costs across the business were down 12%.
Sales fell 10% to $8.98 billion, below analyst targets for $9.59 billion, according to FactSet.
The company ended the quarter with 122.3 million subscribers to its streaming services, which includes Max and Discovery, up 5.3 million from the prior quarter.
Advertising sales were down 8% at $1.98 billion and distribution revenue was down 2% at $4.89 billion. For both segments, gains in streaming subscribers were more than offset by declines in linear TV subscribers.
Content sales, meanwhile, sank 27% to $1.87 billion due to lower box office and home entertainment revenues. The year-ago quarter included strong theatrical releases and carryover content from the fourth quarter of 2023. The latest completed quarter also didn't have any notable game releases, Warner Brothers said.
Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 08, 2025 07:25 ET (11:25 GMT)
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