Warner Bros. Discoveryis eliminating 70 jobs at HBO Max, primarily from the division’s reality, casting and acquisitions departments, according to people familiar with the matter.
The job cuts, which amount to 14% of staff at the streamer, are part of a larger effort at Warner Bros. Discovery to eliminate overlap as HBO Max and Discovery+ come together as one streaming service. Discovery closed on its $43 billion acquisition of WarnerMediain April. Chief Executive Officer David Zaslav has promised $3 billion in synergies from the merger.
Many of the employees who lost their jobs were members of teams that had been led by former HBO Max chief content officer Kevin Reilly that no longer fit within the new structure of Warner Bros. Discovery, two of the people said. Reillyleft the company in 2020.
Zaslav is combining HBO Max and Discovery+ to form a new streaming service that will launch in the U.S. in mid-2023. Discovery will provide the reality programming for that product, making HBO Max’s reality division unnecessary, the people said. HBO also frequently works directly with casting directors, rather than using internal people, and hasphased out many of its so-called pay-one deals, in which it acquires licensed films— work done by its acquisitions department.
Other departments affected include business affairs, programming and production, one of the people said.
No shows will be canceled as part of the job cuts, the people said. The job cuts aren’t targeted at HBO Max’s scripted series or films.
An HBO Max spokesperson declined to comment.
WATCH: Streaming is hard when you’re levered as much as Warner Bros. Discovery, says analyst
디즈니, 넷플릭스 구독자 넘었다 : 6월말 기준 디즈니의 구독자 수(2억2110만)가 넷플릭스의 구독자(2억2067만)를 넘었다는 분석이 나왔어요. 넷플릭스의 직접적인 라이벌인 디즈니플러스가 넘은 것은 아니고 ESPN+, 훌루 등 디즈니의 모든 구독서비스 합산. 다만 디즈니는 향후 구독자 전망치를 줄이기도 했어요.
Disney’s Streaming Services Passed Netflix In Total Subscriptions – Update
UPDATED with subscription vs. subscriber clarification:WaltDisney’s total DTC subscriptions all in totaled 221.1 million for the company’s fiscal third quarter ended in June. That was a big beat for Disney+ and its parent.
It also passedNetflixin total subscriptions. That streamer noted today that subscriptions and subscribers are not apples to apples. Netflix most recently reported 220.67 million total global subscribers. The main difference is Netflix doesn’t have bundles,.
Disney counts subscribers to SVOD bundles as one for each service included. (As in, subscribers toHuluLive TV + SVOD offerings are counted as one each for Hulu Live TV + SVOD, Disney+ andESPN+.) “When we aggregate the total number of paid subscribers across our DTC streaming services, we refer to them as paid subscriptions,” Disney’s earnings release says.
Disney’s numbers include Disney+ (152M), ESPN+ (22.8M) and Hulu total, including Live TV, at (46.2M).
Disney will shed some subscribers down the line after losing a bidding war for streaming cricket rights in India, where a big chunk of Disney+ subs are based.
So the numbers may shift but ebb and flow shows just how volatile the streaming business is.
Netflix, the established leader, set off a wave of jitters with an unexpected loss of 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022 and warned of a potentially steeper loss for the following quarter of up to 2 million. When it came out with loss of just under 1 million subs — about 970,000 — that was viewed in part as a victory. It was the biggest sub loss in the company’s history (saved in part by fourth season ofStranger Thingsthat was released in May).
The Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos-led giant is also in the process of rolling out a ad-supported streaming tier.
Media stocks rallied today along with broader markets. Disney is up nearly 5% and Netflix is flat in after-market trading. Disney announced its quarterly numbers just after market close.
