Warner Bros. Discovery was able to write off between $2 billion and $2.5 billion in the fiscal third quarter of 2022 due to its major content purge.
As reported by IndieWire, these big savings, which the company’s accountants refer to as “content impairment and development write-offs,” are part of the larger “pre-tax restructuring charges” in the third quarter than in they will ultimately total between $3.2 billion and $4.3 billion. dollars WBD noted that more restructurings are coming in the near future, adding: “While the company’s restructuring efforts are ongoing, including strategic analysis of content programming, which may result in additional impairments beyond the estimate.” provided above, the restructuring initiatives are expected to be substantially complete by the end of 2024.”
WBD’s content purge caused a stir when the company decided to cancel DC’s Bat girl in August, even though the film is nearly complete. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav indicated that the decision to scrap Bat girl was in part to “protect the DC brand”, while other sources state that “the decision was not driven by the quality of the film or the commitment of the filmmakers, but by a desire for the studio’s slate of DC movies was on a blockbuster scale.” Test audiences who were able to see early screenings of the film compared it to a “bad TV episode”.
Weather Bat girl was one of the first projects caught up in the WBD content purge, a significant number of projects were delayed or cancelled, including a massive overhaul of HBO Max’s content library. This move was reported to have saved the company “tens of millions of dollars”.
Meanwhile, the release dates of both aquaman and the lost kingdom Y Shazam! wrath of the gods it was significantly delayed, allegedly due to the company’s financial problems. The release date of Shazam! wrath of the gods was postponed from December 21, 2022 to March 17, 2022, a move that director David F. Sandberg ultimately agreed to. date for it,” he said.
Amidst cancellations, layoffs, and an ongoing lawsuit, Zaslav responded to rumors in September that WBD was for sale. “We are not for sale, absolutely not for sale,” he said. “We have the strongest hand in the business. We have everything we need to succeed and become the largest entertainment media company in the world.”
Source: IndieWire
