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The rumors are true: Discovery+ will stay a standalone service forward of the upcoming consolidation of the smaller streamer and HBO Max.
“For those who have Discovery proper now, the churn could be very low, and it’s worthwhile,” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav mentioned in the course of the firm’s fourth-quarter earnings name Thursday night.
Whereas Zaslav acknowledged that many shoppers would need to transfer as much as the bigger product, which might have content material from each streamers, some subscribers are glad paying $5 to $7 and sticking with Discovery and OWN-type content material.
“Our technique is not any sub left behind. We’ve got worthwhile subscribers which are very pleased with the product providing of Discovery+. Why would we shut that off?” Zaslav added.
Although Discovery+ could also be worthwhile, Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming division actually isn’t, this time dropping $217 million within the fourth quarter. The direct-to-consumer section pulled in $2.45 billion in income; solely round 5% got here from promoting.
Total, the corporate misplaced $2.1 billion, which Zaslav attributed to a “very difficult” macroeconomic surroundings, which he believes will enhance within the second half of the yr.
The DTC section added 1.1 million subscribers, bringing its whole to 96.1 million to finish the yr, up from the 94.9 million reported within the earlier quarter.
There’s nonetheless no data on a launch date for the upcoming mixed service; nevertheless, the corporate revealed there could be a press occasion on April 12, which Zaslav teased would reveal a “considerably enhanced” product platform.
One ring to rule all of them
Regardless of the continuing income losses, Zaslav stays assured that WBD is heading in the right direction.
Throughout the name, he revealed that “a number of” new Lord of the Rings motion pictures have been ordered by the corporate’s movie studio.
Newly put in studio leaders Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy—who just lately exited from MGM—have signed on with the corporate to create the movies. A “new period” at DC Studios can also be ushering within the growth of 5 movies and 5 tv sequence.
As a part of WBD’s content material technique, Zaslav pointed to the success of HBO originals, together with Home of the Dragon, The White Lotus, Euphoria and up to date hit The Final of Us, as subscription drivers.
The Final of Us premiered in the course of the first quarter of this yr, and Zaslav was fast to emphasise its exponential progress, utilizing the chance to double down on the weekly launch mannequin.
“We consider that when you’ve content material that’s so good that it hits the zeitgeist, one of the simplest ways to drive curiosity and engagement isn’t by dropping the whole season on a platform unexpectedly however by permitting the thrill and anticipation to construct over time,” Zaslav mentioned. “And it’s the identical precept with theatrical: Perceived worth of content material will increase when there’s nice expectancy and pleasure.”
A struggling technique
By Zaslav’s admission, closing the Warner Bros. Discovery merger instantly earlier than final yr’s upfront could not have been the very best technique.
“We needed to take two completely different gross sales groups and pull them collectively,” he mentioned, including that the group made the choice to drive value moderately than further quantity.
“With the intention to do this, we took much less quantity than we may have. And now you see a really tender scatter market, so that’s having some influence on us versus others that took a a lot larger place,” Zaslav mentioned.
Waiting for the 2023 upfront, the corporate is in search of a extra equal steadiness.
“I believe the breadth of our content material, along with the place we go in on value, positions simply very properly,” Zaslav mentioned. “And so we’ll be mindful this steadiness of quantity versus value, however I all the time would err towards value as a result of I believe that’s the place you actually construct asset worth.”
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