Cord cutting and the drop in ad sales have hit Warner Bros. Discovery hard. Today the company reported its 4th quarter 2022 earnings and reported a $2.1 billion loss. This includes a $1.85 billion write-down and $1.2 billion in restructuring expenses.
This works out to be about $22.8 million lost every day in the 4th quarter of 2022.
According to CEO David Zaslav the company is excited about the future. “We’re seeing strong momentum across the enterprise,” he said, noting that “we believe we have repositioned our businesses to take full advantage of the many opportunities ahead.
Total revenue was $11 billion, and HBO Max, along with Discovery+, added 1.1 million subscribers.
In total global direct-to-consumer subscribers hit 96.1 million at the end of 2022. This shows that HBO Max and Discovery+ have a strong subscriber base to build off of going forward.
2023 will be an important year for Warner Bros. Discovery. The launch of the newly merged Discovery+ and HBO Max services will be important for the company. There will also be pressure from stockholders to see the company cut its loses or make a profit in 2023.