Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., the parent of HBO and CNN, reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss from streaming, suggesting the media giant is making progress in its path toward profitability in the nascent business.
(Bloomberg) — Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., the parent of HBO and CNN, reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss from streaming, suggesting the media giant is making progress in its path toward profitability in the nascent business. Â
The company, which relaunched its streaming service as Max in May, on Thursday posted a second-quarter loss of $3 million in its direct-to-consumer business, which encompasses its streaming services. Analysts had forecast a loss of $285.6 million, on average.
Subscribers to its streaming services, which include Max and Discovery+, decreased by 1.8 million, Warner Bros. Discovery said in a statement. In May, the company reported a surprise first-quarter profit in its streaming video business.
The company, which also operates cable channels such as TNT, said total sales fell 4% to $10.4 billion, just shy of Wall Street analysts’ estimates. The company posted a loss of 51 cents a share. Analysts had estimated a 41-cent loss.
Warner Bros. Discovery faced a challenging second quarter, including a tough TV advertising climate. The company said TV ad sales fell 13%, driven by audience declines and a soft ad market.
Warner Bros. Discovery was created last year through the merger of Discovery Inc. and the WarnerMedia operations of AT&T Inc.
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