Warner Bros. Discovery fell short of expectations when releasing its fourth-quarter earnings on Friday. The company reported a revenue of $10.28 billion, missing the $10.35 billion estimate according to LSEG data. Advertising revenue for the three months ended December 31 sunk by 12% to $1.95 billion.
The streaming giant’s disappointing financial performance has been largely attributed to the absence of blockbuster releases over the past few months. This is still a spillover from the Hollywood strikes that took place last year which led to widescale production halts as well as delays in post-production works.
Although customers’ gravitation towards streaming has benefitted Warner Bros, Discovery’s streaming business, the company’s cable business has suffered as a result, with customers increasingly abandoning their linear TV packages. By the end of the quarter, Warner Bros. Discovery had 97.7 million global streaming customers, up from 95.1 million at the end of the previous quarter.