Warner Bros. Discovery reported net loss of $2.1 billion, or 86 cents per share, for the fourth quarter of 2022. The figure included $1.2 billion in pre-tax restructuring expenses and an acquisition-related write-down of $1.85 billion.
Revenue for the quarter came in at 11.008 billion, down 11% on a pro-forma combined basis compared to the same period a year ago.
Analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research were expecting a loss of three cents per share on revenue of $11 billion.
“With the major restructuring decisions behind us, this year we are focused on building and
growing our businesses for the future, and we’re off to a great start,” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said in a statement.
The direct-to-consumer division posted an operating loss of $217 million on revenue of $2.45 billion. Average revenue per user for global DTC was $7.58, while domestic ARPU was 10.83 and international ARPU was $3.71.
As of the end of 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery had a total of 96.1 million DTC subscribers across HBO Max and Discovery+ after adding 1.1 million subscribers during the quarter, helped in part by the re-launch of HBO Max on Amazon Channels in December 2022 .
The company raised the price of HBO Max for the first time ever in January, with the cost of its ad-free subscription increasing by $1 to $15.99 per month, a change not reflected in the just-reported quarterly results. The hike came as Warner plans to launch a combined, ad-supported offering of HBO Max and Discovery+ later this year at a lower price point. It will also continue to offer a standalone version of the lower-cost Discovery+ service. In addition, Warner struck deals with Tubi and Roku to license 2,000 hours of content and launch a series of free, ad-supported channels to carry its movies and television shows. The company plans to introduce its own FAST service this year.
Meanwhile, the studios segment posted revenue of $3.8 billion, while the networks segment saw revenue of $5.5 billion.
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Reference-www.thewrap.com
