Warner Bros. Discovery is still searching for “synergies” across its operations, six months after the two separate companies combined to form a new media and entertainment giant. CEO David Zaslav is targeting cost reductions of $3.5B over the next three years by canceling unprofitable ventures, combining duplicate teams across the organization, and cutting staff.
Beginning in the Spring of 2023, consumers will see the HBO Max and Discovery+ channels combined into a single subscription service. WBD projects that $750M in cost reductions will already have been achieved by the end of 2022, only eight months after the company’s mega-merger took effect.
On the bright side, Zaslav sees an opportunity in focusing the company’s movie business increasingly on mining big-ticket franchises such as Superman, Harry Potter, and the DC Extended Universe. “We learned what doesn’t work.
And this is what doesn’t work for us based on everything that we’ve seen: direct-to-streaming movies… The movies that we launch in theaters do significantly better and launching a 2-hour, 40-minute movie direct to streaming has done nothing for HBO Max in terms of viewership, retention, or love of the service.”
See also: Warner Bros Discovery Chief David Zaslav On Conglom’s Content Strategy: “Real Focus On Franchises” Like ‘Superman’ & ‘Harry Potter’ (Deadline)