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Tag: HBO Max

  • Warner Bros. Discovery posts Q2 net loss of $3.4 mn

    Warner Bros. Discovery posts Q2 net loss of $3.4 mn

    Mumbai: Media conglomerate Warner Bros. Discovery has announced that second quarter revenues were $9.8 million, a one per cent decrease compared to the prior year quarter. Net loss was $3.4 million and included $2oo4 million of amortisation of intangibles, $1033 million of restructuring and other charges, and $983 million of transaction and integration expenses.

    Adjusted Ebitda was $1.6 million. Cash provided by operating activities increased to $1 million and reported free cash flow increased to $789 million. The company ended the quarter with $3.8 million of cash on hand, gross debt of $53 billion and net leverage of 5x. It ended the quarter with 92.1 million global DTC subscribers, an increase of 1.7 million versus 90.4 million subscribers at the end of the first quarter, as adjusted for the company’s new DTC subscriber definition. The new definition resulted in the exclusion of 10 million legacy Discovery non-core subscribers and unactivated AT&T mobility subscribers from the Q1 subscriber count.

    “We’ve had a busy, productive four months since launching Warner Bros. Discovery and have more conviction than ever in the massive opportunity ahead. We have the most powerful creative engine and bouquet of owned content in the world, as highlighted by our industry-leading 193 Emmy nominations, and we intend to maximise the value of that content through a broad distribution model that includes theatrical, streaming, linear cable, free-to-air, gaming, consumer products and experiences and more, everywhere in the world. We’re confident we’re on the right path to meet our strategic goals and really excel, both creatively and financially, and couldn’t be more excited about the future of our company” said WBD president, CEO David Zaslav.

    Networks reported revenues were $5.7 million an increase of one per cent. Ad revenue increased by two per cent, primarily driven by strong demand for sports advertising, partially offset by lower news, kids, and general entertainment performance in the US International networks were impacted by modest declines in EMEA, offset by growth in Latin America, excluding the impact of Chilevisión, which was sold in September 2021.

    Distribution revenue decreased by one per cent, as increases in US contractual affiliate rates were more than offset by a decline in linear subscribers in the US and lower contractual affiliate rates in some European markets. Networks reported operating expenses were $3.4 million.  Adjusted Ebitda was $2.62 million.

    Studios reported revenues were $2.7 million a growth of four per cent. Games were a strong contributor behind the release of “Lego Star Wars – The Skywalker Saga.” TV licensing revenues declined due to lower TV production revenue, partially offset by the timing of new series availabilities for distribution. Theatrical performance was unfavourably impacted by the timing of releases. Home entertainment across theatrical and television products was down due to strong Covid-induced demand in the prior year quarter. Studios reported operating expenses were $2.5 million. Adjusted Ebitda was $239 million.

    DTC revenues were $2.2 million. Revenues increased by four per cent. Ad revenue increased to $98 million, primarily driven by the launch of the HBO Max ad-supported tier in June 2021 and subscriber growth on the discovery+ ad-lite tier. Distribution revenue increased by one per cent. Global retail subscriber gains at discovery+ and HBO Max compared to the prior year quarter were largely offset by lower domestic wholesale subscribers resulting from the Amazon Channels expiration in September 2021 for HBO Max. DTC’s operating expenses were $2.7 million.  Adjusted Ebitda was a loss of – $518 million.

  • HBO Max and Discovery+ to merge into single streaming platform by 2023

    HBO Max and Discovery+ to merge into single streaming platform by 2023

    Mumbai: On a second-quarter earnings call on Thursday, Warner Bros. Discovery announced the merger of HBO Max and Discovery+. The media conglomerate set a timeline for integrating the two services.

    According to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO and president of global streaming and interactive JB Perrette, who spoke on the company’s Q2 earnings call, HBO Max and Discovery+ will launch in the United States as a single service in the summer of 2023. “At the end of the day, putting all the content together was the only way we saw to make this a viable business,” he said.

    Bringing HBO Max and Discovery+ together is aimed at cutting churn, so “there’s something for everyone in the household,” he added. WBD did not reveal the new brand name for the combined service, nor did executives discuss pricing for the unified stream.

    According to Perrette, Warner Bros. Discovery is initially focused on the ad-supported and ad-free versions of the combined HBO Max-Discovery+ but is also “exploring how to reach customers in the free, ad-supported space” with content that is distinct from what is available on premium VOD services.

    He added that HBO may or may not be included in the name of the unified direct-to-consumer WBD platform; Perrette stated that the company is conducting consumer research on the HBO Max name. “HBO will always be the beacon and the ultimate brand that stands for television quality.”

    The combined HBO Max-Discovery+ service, according to Perrette, will combine the best features of both services. According to him, HBO Max has performance and customer issues but offers a rich set of features, whereas Discovery+ has fewer features but a more robust underlying delivery capability.

    Following the launch of the unified HBO Max-Discovery+ platform in the United States in summer 2023, WBD plans to bring the platform to Latin America in the fall of 2023, Europe in early 2024, Asia-Pacific in mid-2024, and other markets in the fall of 2024.

    WBD’s HBO Max, HBO, and Discovery+ subscribers reached 92.1 million in the second quarter, up 1.7 million from the previous quarter’s 90.4 million. On a pro-forma basis, this is a 22 per cent increase of $75.8 million over the previous year.

    WBD expects to have 130 million global streaming subscribers by 2025 and to generate one billion dollars in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation from its direct-to-consumer businesses (Ebitda). He shared that the company’s Ebidta losses in the streaming division are expected to peak in 2022, with a long-term margin potential of 20 per cent or higher.

    Currently, HBO Max costs $14.99 per month without ads and $9.99 per month with ads in the United States. Discovery+ costs $6.99 per month without ads and $4.99 per month with ads.

    The company, on 17 May 2021, announced its plans to merge its two flagship streaming platforms, HBO Max from the legacy WarnerMedia (spun off from AT&T) and Discovery+. CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels broadly sketched out a strategy to combine the streamers in March 2022, ahead of the close of the deal forming Warner Bros. Discovery, saying that it would initially sell the pair as a bundle before fully integrating them.

    The merged HBO Max-Discovery+ streaming platform will combine thousands of hours of programming spanning scripted, reality, and documentary content and will resemble a mini-cable TV bundle.

  • Netflix faces strong headwinds due to slowdown in revenue growth

    Netflix faces strong headwinds due to slowdown in revenue growth

    Mumbai: On Tuesday, Netflix reported a loss of almost 1 million subscribers during the spring amid soaring inflation that’s squeezing household budgets while the company faced tougher competition from rivals including HBO Max and Disney+.

    However, the drop was not nearly as high as the two million cancellations that had been forecast. Nonetheless, Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings didn’t try to minimize things during a Tuesday conference call about the results. “It’s tough losing a million subscribers and calling it a success,” he said.

    Netflix was probably spared from deeper losses by the ongoing popularity of Stranger Things, its science fiction/horror series that debuted in 2016. Stranger Things 4 is the second-most-popular TV series on Netflix, drawing more than 1.3 billion hours of watch time on the platform in its first 28 days, according to the company.

    Despite the downturn, Netflix still earned $1.4 billion, or $3.20 per share during the quarter, a 6 per cent increase from the same time last year. Revenue rose 9 per cent from the same time last year to nearly $8 billion. Netflix’s stock price had previously plunged by nearly 70 percent in the last year, wiping out about $180 billion in shareholder wealth.

    Netflix is taking steps to decrease costs and bump revenue. The company has been cutting costs with employee and contract worker lay-offs in such areas as marketing and social media. In April, the company announced a crack-down on subscriber password sharing.

    To attract and retain subscribers, the company began branching out last year by adding free video games to its streaming service and is also reportedly exploring live-streaming content, such as comedy specials. In addition, Netflix has taken another step toward putting together a cheaper, ad-supported subscriber option when it announced it will team up with Microsoft to deliver the commercials.

    “We have some headwinds right now and we are navigating through them,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said at the end of Tuesday’s conference call. “We’ve seen entertainment formats come and go, we’ve seen entertainment business models come and go, and we have managed to grow through all of them, though all kinds of economic conditions and through all levels of competition.”

    Last year, Netflix India made a bold move in slashing prices across its four subscription tiers, notably cutting its popular ‘Basic’ plan by a huge 60 per cent, reducing it from $6.24 (Rs 499) a month to just $2.49 ( Rs 199).

    While the company didn’t state a reason at the time for the price cut, Netflix India’s vice president of content Monika Shergill told the entertainment news portal Deadline that the strategic move was made in a bid to open up the service to a broader range of audiences across the Indian market.

    Six months down the line, Shergill says the pricing cut is “working very well for us, and it’s brought in a whole new set of audiences,” enabling Netflix India to prioritize subscriber growth at a time when the company had begun to ramp up its licensing and original programming slate beyond Hindi and English-language content. “It’s a very different pricing model,” she says of the Indian streaming market, adding that most local competitors work on annual plans with the benefit of big discounts from telco partners.

    “For us, our revision of the pricing was very well-timed with our content strategy and the new slate we were rolling out. We were very clear that when we started programming for a broader set of audiences that we would need to increase access and the pricing was a very important part of it,” said Shergill.

    After Netflix’s better-than-expected second-quarter earnings on Tuesday, the company’s shares continued their recent upturn as Wall Street analysts had differing opinions on the takeaway from the report. After weeks of worry, investors took a brief sigh of relief. However, sceptics point out that the loss was the biggest in any quarter in the company’s 25-year history.

    In a bold move to woo back subscribers and attract new ones, Netflix will stream the action thriller, The Gray Man this weekend after a limited release in theatres. The film cost a reported $200 million, the most expensive movie in Netflix’s history.

     

  • HBO Max to stop original content creation in the Nordics, Central Europe, the Netherlands & Turkey

    HBO Max to stop original content creation in the Nordics, Central Europe, the Netherlands & Turkey

    MUMBAI: Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) is putting a stop to original productions by its streaming service HBO Max in the Nordics, Central Europe, the Netherlands and Turkey.

    In a statement, the company said, “As we continue to work on combining HBO Max and Discovery+ into one global streaming service showcasing the breadth of content across Warner Bros. Discovery, we are reviewing our current content proposition on the existing services.”

    “As part of this process, we have decided to remove a limited amount of original programming from HBO Max, as well as ceasing our original programming efforts for HBO Max in the Nordics and Central Europe. We have also ceased our nascent development activities in the newer territories of Netherlands and Turkey, which had commenced over the past year,” it stated.

    “Our commitment to these markets has not changed. We will continue to commission local content for Warner Bros. Discovery’s linear networks in these regions and we remain substantial acquirers of local third-party content for use on our streaming services,” the company statement added.

  • Global SVOD subscriptions to grow by 485 million: Research

    Global SVOD subscriptions to grow by 485 million: Research

    MUMBAI: Global Subscription Video On Demand (SVOD) subscriptions will surge by 485 million between 2021 and 2027 to reach 1.69 billion. Six US-based platforms will have 988 million paying SVOD subscribers by 2027, up from 612 million in 2021, according to a report by Digital TV Research.

    Digital TV Research principal analyst Simon Murray said, “Our Netflix forecasts for 2027 are 29 million lower than our February update – at 253 million. Netflix needs to boost its content to counter its fresher and cheaper rivals.”

    Despite losing four million subscribers in North America, a total of 31 million subscribers Netflix will add between 2021 and 2027.

    It is estimated that Disney+ will overtake Netflix in 2025. Disney+ will add 144 million subscribers between 2021 and 2027 to take its total to 274 million Disney+ Hotstar will roll out to 13 Asian countries by 2027. These countries will supply 114 million (42 per cent) of the global Disney+ subscriber total, but only $1.58 billion (11 per cent) of Disney+’ revenues ($14.7 billion) by 2027.

    Netflix will remain the revenue winner, with $34 billion by 2027 – similar to Disney+, HBO Max and Paramount+ combined. However, the Netflix total is only $4 billion more than 2021 as subscriber growth decelerates and average revenue per user (arpu) is squeezed.

  • HBO Max partners with Series Mania Institute to boost video production in Europe

    HBO Max partners with Series Mania Institute to boost video production in Europe

    Lille, France: The shortage of writing, production, and directorial talent is being bemoaned by one and all at a time when demand for content is booming worldwide. WarnerMedia EMEA is doing something about it in France to start with. EVP & head of original production, EMEA Anthony Root at the content powerhouse- on 23 March – announced that it is going to be putting in a million dollars over the next three years behind an initiative SeriesMania Institute being pushed by fast growing TV series festival SeriesMania.

    Present at the Series Mania Forum during the announcement were the festival’s founder & general director Laurence Herszberg, and Series Mania Institute project manager Pierre Ziemniak. HBO Max will be joining Newen (founding partner), France Télévisions, and Entreprises et Cités, The Series Mania Institute, launched last year, is an initiative devoted entirely to training the professionals of tomorrow’s European TV series.

    The organisation also benefits from the support of the Lille European Metropolis (MEL), the Hauts-de-France Region, and the CNC, as well as partnerships with some of the leading European schools, including La Fémis and Sciences Po Lille. Its European course Eureka Series is supported by the Creative Europe MEDIA programme of the European Union.

    Herszberg says, “Since its creation, our mission with the Series Mania Institute has been to be the incubator for creating new talent and developing an impressive European network, while reinforcing the training of these professionals in the field of series and audiovisual content, including scriptwriters, directors, producers, and broadcasters. Now, thanks to HBO Max and their generous funding, along with all of our partners, we are well positioned to devote the necessary training to these new talents who will create the European series of tomorrow. I could not be prouder than to be making this announcement today.”

    HBO Max EMEA General Manager Christina Sulebakk adds, “Europe is home to an incredible breadth and depth of talent and in partnership with the Series Mania Institute, we’re thrilled to provide the support and resources to nurture the next generation. At HBO Max, we recognise that programming is only as good as those who are empowered to make it and through this initiative, we’re excited to play a meaningful role in helping creatives to do their best work.”

    Unit Audiovisual Industry and Media Support Programmes, European Commission head Lucia Recalde highlights, “Creative Europe MEDIA is proud to be a partner of the Series Mania ecosystem, first through Series Mania Forum, and now with Eureka Series, the European training programme of Series Mania Institute. HBO Max supporting the Institute marks an important step in the integration of international SVOD platforms to the European industry, and a major creative opportunity for European series professionals”.

    Opened in 2021, the Series Mania Institute is the first school entirely devoted to training future series professionals. The Institute is made up of three programmes, including: Eureka Series, an intensive three-month training course for emerging television drama series writers and producers from all over Europe, a Master’s Programme at Science Po Lille for future managers, and Le Tremplin/Springboard, a platform to help identify, initiate, and guide young talents in the Hauts-de-France region. Through these programmes and future initiatives, the Series Mania Institute delivers world-class training to creators and storytellers from diverse backgrounds and origins and develops the next generation of remarkable European series makers, contributing to a strong future for the European audiovisual industry.

  • Discovery Plus, HBO Max to merge into one streaming service

    Discovery Plus, HBO Max to merge into one streaming service

    Mumbai: Discovery, which is expected to close its acquisition of WarnerMedia in the second quarter of 2022, confirmed its plans to combine its streaming service Discovery Plus and WarnerMedia’s HBO Max into one service rather than offer the two platforms as a bundle.

    Discovery chief financial officer Gunnar Weidenfels who addressed the Deutsche Bank 30th Annual Media, Internet and Telecom Conference said that Discovery is making preparations to combine the two streaming services. But before they are combined, the first step of integration will be some form of bundling as the company figures out the best way to merge the two platforms.

    On 11 March, Discovery Inc stockholders approved various matters relating to the acquisition of WarnerMedia from AT&T to create Warner Bros-Discovery Inc. The transaction will bring together WarnerMedia’s entertainment, sports and new assets with Discovery’s non-fiction, international entertainment, and sports business.

    Direct-to-consumer service Discovery Plus had 22 million subscribers, while HBO Max had 73.8 million subscribers at the end of 2021.

  • HBO Max accelerates global footprint with 15 new European countries

    HBO Max accelerates global footprint with 15 new European countries

    Mumbai:  WarnerMedia’s streaming platform HBO Max is now available in 61 territories globally, after launching in 15 additional European countries. These new countries where HBO Max was launched on 8 March include Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

    HBO Max launched in the US in May 2020 and is rapidly rolling out globally. In June 2021, it became available in 39 territories in Latin America and the Caribbean and in October 2021 it arrived in Europe, launching in the Nordics, Spain, and Andorra. The premium streaming platform continues its global expansion later this year, with launches set for Turkey, Greece, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. There are also plans for further expansion to Southeast Asia.

    HBO Max launches with attractive pricing and a promotion offering all customers in Central and Eastern Europe and Portugal more than 30 per cent off the monthly price for the lifetime of their subscription. In the Netherlands, it launches with two tiers, both at 50 per cent off the regular monthly subscription price for the life of the subscription. A monthly subscription to the standard tier (with HD 1080p, 4K, three concurrent streams, 30 downloads) is priced at €3.99 and a monthly subscription to the basic tier (with HD 720p, one concurrent stream, five downloads) at €2.99.

    “From today, HBO Max is streaming in 21 European countries with Central and Eastern Europe, Portugal and the Netherlands joining the Nordics, Spain and Andorra where we launched the platform last year,” said HBO Max EMEA general manager Christina Sulebakk. “Central and Eastern Europe is where it all began for our European business back in 1991 with our first linear channels and we’re pleased that today, more than 30 years later, we’re bringing fans in the region a completely new way to access all their favourite entertainment.”

    “In under 24 months we have built a scalable streaming business present in 61 territories and counting. International is going to continue to be an important part of our global growth story going forward,” commented HBO Max International head Johannes Larcher. “I am particularly proud that our presence in Central and Eastern Europe is further strengthened by today’s launch of HBO Max, and that we are doubling down on our strong commitment to fans, partners and employees across the region during this challenging time.”

    HBO Max is distributed as an app across devices such as Apple TV, Amazon Firestick, Google Chromecast, Roku and a host of smart TVs. WarnerMedia has also launched an ad-supported version of HBO Max which offers the service to consumers at a lower price. The streaming platform is expected to foray into India this year.

  • Discovery was greatest global commissioner of TV shows in 2021: Ampere

    Discovery was greatest global commissioner of TV shows in 2021: Ampere

    Mumbai: The greatest global commissioner of TV shows in 2021 was Discovery, with a record-breaking 556 first-run TV show titles commissioned in the year, according to market-leading data and analytics firm Ampere. This extends Discovery’s lead of 46, recorded in 2020, to 153 titles by year-end 2021.

    ViacomCBS pipped Netflix for second place with 406 titles compared to Netflix’s 403. Three other contenders – Disney, the BBC and Comcast – came close with 387, 373, and 353 first-run shows respectively, it said.

    This group of six pulled further ahead of their global rivals through 2021 with each supporting the expansion of their own subscription video on demand (SVoD) services. WarnerMedia also accelerated through the year but not enough to rank in the top six.

    However, for 2022 it is those shows commissioned but not yet released, the in-production slate, that will be key, noted Ampere study. Discovery’s typical commissions (largely documentaries) have a shorter production timescale and are lower cost and less high-profile than titles on Netflix’s still predominantly scripted slate. Netflix is set to release most of its 243 in-production TV titles in 2022 (with an additional 106 films) which will push the streamer’s overall slate of original releases to over 2,000 titles.

    It should be noted that the above figures for 2021 exclude the US majors’ growing SVoD film slate.  The US majors combined commissioned 74 film titles specifically for SVoD. However, adding Netflix’s 203 commissioned films in 2021 would push the global streamer into first place, albeit via a less direct comparison.

    Through their in-production TV show commissions for their VoD platforms, studios’ intentions are laid bare. Among all the TV shows currently being produced by Disney, 58 per cent are now originals for its streaming platform, Disney+. WarnerMedia follows closely behind with 85 titles for HBO Max, representing 48 per cent of shows it currently has in production. Titles destined for VoD make up 39 per cent of ViacomCBS’s current slate and 28 per cent of Comcast’s.

    The year 2022 will see further additions to these slates as the studio-backed VoD services continue to expand both their original catalogues and subscriber bases, both domestically and, increasingly, internationally.

  • WarnerMedia announces three senior content hires in Asia

    WarnerMedia announces three senior content hires in Asia

    Mumbai: WarnerMedia on Friday announced three senior content hires in Asia to bolster its original productions teams in advance of the launch of HBO Max in the region.

    In the Singapore-based team, Mark Francis has been appointed group lead of production and development (scripted and unscripted), and Wee Shi Ming has been named lead of entertainment content acquisition for North Asia content. They both will report to WarnerMedia head of content – entertainment for Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong Magdalene Ew.

    In Mumbai, Saugata Mukherjee joins WarnerMedia as head of content – entertainment, India. The newly-created role, like Ew, reports to managing director of India, Southeast Asia and Korea Clement Schwebig.

    “These are vital roles as we look to ramp up our original content and programming ambitions in this region,” said Schwebig. “Saugata, Mark and Shi Ming have a great eye for a winning project and have enviable connections within the industry. With them all now in place over the past few months, we’re looking in great shape to entertain local audiences with a well-rounded and premium slate.”

    Former Astro head of OTT content and iflix chief content officer Francis will lead a regional team to develop Asian original productions under the ‘Max Originals’ banner.

    Wee Shi Ming, in the content acquisition team, started in late 2021 and will focus on securing Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Anime titles. Prior to this role, Wee was at Viu and Sony Pictures Television Networks, where she was head of acquisition and programming for Asian content. Wee now works alongside Katheryn Lim, who leads content acquisition for international and English-language entertainment titles, with both of them reporting into Ew.

    Former SonyLiv and Disney exec Mukherjee also joined in late 2021 and is responsible for commissioning local originals, as well as acquiring and developing Indian content across all general entertainment genres.

    In September 2021, WarnerMedia also announced the appointment of Audrey Wee as the physical production lead for its growing line-up of regional entertainment content in Southeast Asia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. And in July, May-Yi Lee was named Lead of development and production – unscripted for the same region. Wee reports into Ew while Lee reports into Francis.