Warner Bros. Discovery Narrows Q3 Loss, but ‘Barbie’ Success Tempered by Advertising Declines
variety.comBrian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Warner Bros. Discovery narrowed its third-quarter loss as the media giant, grappling with billions of dollars in debt as a result of the 2022 merger that created it, saw the box-office success of “Barbie” offset by a 12% decline in advertising at its portfolio of TV networks.
The owner of CNN, the Warner Bros. studio and the Max streaming service said its net loss narrowed to $417 million, compared with nearly $2.31 billion in the year-earlier period.
Revenue rose just 2%, to nearly $9.98 billion from $9.82 billion in the year-earlier period. Despite revenue hikes at the company’s streaming and studios operations, Warner Bros.
Discovery saw a 12% decline in revenue at its largest business segment, the one that includes its TV networks. Distribution revenue fell 3%, while advertising was off 12%, both largely due to declines in subscribers as well as a soft market for ad spending.
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