John Oliver ripped Warner Bros Discovery on his HBO programme Last Week Tonight for ‘burning down the network’
After the media behemoth cut $825 million worth of programming, the comic sarcastically praised the new ‘daddy business’
He quipped that the parent corporation was ruining the firm for ‘insurance money’ and derided the $90million failure Batgirl.
HBO is part of Warner Bros. Discovery, therefore some viewers were surprised.
Warner Bros Discovery said in an SEC statement Friday that it has erased $825 million in material since its massive merger in May.
The figure includes $496m in content impairment and $329m in content development write-offs.
The amount was attained when TBS, TNT, and CNN+ were axed.
Oliver claimed on his programme that sharing vaccinations would have served fundamental human decency and shameless selfishness by preventing an epidemic here.
We let the pandemic lay idle in our reserves like outdated Chobani or a $90m HBO Max movie.
‘Hi new business daddy, you’re doing a terrific job,’ he said.
I have a hazy feeling you’re burning down my network for insurance money, but that’ll pass.
Warner Bros Discovery wrote down $825 million in content after the WarnerMedia deal.
SEC filing: ‘Content impairments and development write-offs arose from a worldwide strategic evaluation of content after the Merger.’
The staggering number comprised film and TV companies, TV networkers, and streaming services.
Batgirl and Scoob: Holiday Haunt are scheduled to be accounted for next quarter.
It will include losses from DC’s Wonder Twins, which was cancelled in May.
Chad, Full Frontal With Samantha Bee, The Last OG, and Snowpiercer were cut from TBS and TNT.
The cost is different from the astonishing $208million in job cutbacks.
Warner Bros Discovery streaming executive JB Perrette said children’s series, streaming content, and TBS and TNT shows drove the total.
‘We will continue to spend in content, but with these two portfolios coming together, we see sensible chances to do so more slowly,’ he added.
We are dedicated to a methodology that governs our content investment for optimal return.
CEO David Zaslav said, ‘Owning material that people love is more essential than having gobs of stuff.’
The corporation lost $3.42billion, or $1.50 per share, in the second quarter.
11 cents per share were lost. Zacks Investment Research predicted breakeven.
Wall Street expected $11.53 billion for the three months ended June 30.
Friday’s decline was 17%.
Warner Bros Discovery will merge HBO Max and Discovery+ next year to save $3billion.
The combined services will launch next summer in Latin America, Europe, and other markets through 2024.
The new Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) service will feature ad-free, ad-lite, and free-with-ads variants.
‘Our major streaming focus is establishing an integrated SVOD service,’ he stated.
Once our SVOD service is established, we see considerable potential for a quick or free ad-supported streaming solution that would provide customers who do not want to pay a monthly price access to fantastic library material while acting as an entrance point to our premium service.
Zaslav promoted the new service, which has no name yet, but stayed silent about the company’s aim to save $3 billion via layoffs.
Discovery’s $43billion purchase of AT&T’s WarnerMedia in May 2021 had long been predicted.
Other cost-cutting efforts include the cancellation of the $90 million DC Batgirl film.
Signs of ‘distress’ include production shutdowns and content removal for tax write-offs.
HBO Max deleted six original films off the streamer, according to reports.
Everyone at Warner Bros. Discovery is scared and looking for other jobs, a source told The Wrap.
With HBO taking over HBO Max, there are less scripted series overall.
“They’re integrating HBO Max into HBO, and there will be redundancies,” they said.
Zaslav and management had experience with redundancy after shutting down CNN+.
The Flash’s producer sought to assuage fans’ anxieties after Warner Bros. eliminated Batgirl.
The Flash, starring Ezra Miller, is set for 2023, but many suspect it will similarly be stalled due to Warner Bros.’ lack of certainty.
According to The Flash Film News on Twitter, producer Barbara Muschietti stated, ‘All is okay in Flash land’ despite it being ‘anticipated’ to enter cinemas next June.
Muschietti stated it was ‘total b******t’ to say The Flash does not have a release date.
THE FLASH producer Barbara Muschietti wants to reassure viewers that ‘everything is OK in Flash world’
DailyMail.com asked Warner Bros. whether The Flash would still be released next year.
Warner Bros. is reportedly in a tough position since Miller has been detained many times and his conduct has gotten unpredictable.
Miller, who uses they and they pronouns, was arrested twice this year for allegedly assaulting and spitting on someone in Hawaii.
The picture is slated for release next year, but Warner Bros. has halted further Miller projects.
Under CEO Jason Kilar and partially as a Covid reaction, the studio introduced day-and-date releases in 2021. Batgirl was slated for HBO Max.
Warner Bros. committed to developing movies for HBO Max in an attempt to gain streaming customers.
The move, made partly to avoid Covid-hit cinemas in 2021, was unpopular with creatives and seems to have been reversed following the Discovery deal.
Warner Bros. has reverted to 45-day theatrical windows before delivering movies to HBO Max.
Zaslav said the business would concentrate on recruiting top-tier storytellers for TV and film projects and commit to theatrical releases.
‘Most people came into this industry to be on the big screen after the lights went out,’ he remarked. The economic model is stronger because of this.
Warner Bros Discovery’s shares is down 31% from April’s $25.50.
Netflix’s shares fell 36% at that period, while Paramount’s fell 30%.