Warner Bros. Discovery posted a fourth-quarter loss as the company grappled with $1.9 billion in charges and restructuring expenses, even as the company added 4.6 million subscribers to its streaming outlets.
Like its rivals., Warner is navigating a difficult era for the media sector, one in which linear TV audiences, much easier to monetize, are leaving for new streaming video options. The company said its overall revenue fell 2% to $10 billion, and noted declines of 2% from distribution and 11% in ad sales due to “continuing softness” in traditional ad markets.
“In fact, the U.S. linear television advertising market has deteriorated faster than we expected, as evidenced by our results over the last several quarters,” the company said in a note to shareholders Thursday.
Still, Warner offered robust projections for the future of its streaming business, predicting that its broadband outlet Max would have at least 150 million users by 2026, citing global expansion of the service. WBD told shareholders it expects the streaming business segment to deliver about $1.3 billion of adjusted earnings in 2025, which would be a nearly twofold increase over $677 million last year.
The company’s loss came to $494 million, compared with a loss of $400 million in the year-earlier period, representing a widening of 24%.
Revenue from its studios operations rose 15% to nearly $3.66 billion, largely on the strength of an increase in production compared to a year-earlier quarter that had been crimped by Hollywood labor stoppages. Revenue from the company’s TV networks fell 5% to $4.77 billion, with Warner noting that audiences for its U.S. networks had fallen 28%.
Direct-to-consumer operations were a highlight of the quarter, with Warner notching an increase of 6.4 million subscribers around the world during the period. Warner said its global subscriber base now came to 116.9 million. Revenues rose 5% to $2.65 billion.
