Warner Bros. Discovery may cut more jobs, budgets

Facing $44 million in debt and questions about its future of its money-making NBA broadcasts, Warner Bros. Discovery is reportedly exploring options for cost-cutting, Bloomberg sources said.

WBD CEO David Zaslav, who made $50 million in 2023, reportedly has asked top managers to start looking for ways trim costs more.

This could include slashing budgets for various divisions or layoffs. WBD already cut around 2,000 jobs since the merger between Discovery and WarnerMedia was finalized in 2022.

The company is also reportedly planning to increase prices for its Max and Discovery+ streaming offerings, though exactly how much is not clear (meanwhile, Max recently announced plans to bundle itself with Disney+ and Hulu, representing a partnership with rival Disney).

Execs are also considering cutting back on marketing and tech costs for streaming, according to the Bloomberg sources.

The company has made headway by cutting streaming losses around $55 million in the last quarter of 2022 compared to $217 million. That said, it has been losing customers and it’s unclear how a price hike could affect its churn. 

WBD is eying getting its direct-to-consumer streaming revenues from Max and Discovery+ to $1 billion by 2025.

In addition to debt and rising costs, WBD is also facing the possibility its lucrative NBA rights contract could be headed to NBC and Amazon Prime Video. The company uses the NBA games as a key part of its sports strategy, airing games on multiple cable networks and Max.

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