Warner Bros. Discovery NASDAQ: WBD executives highlighted subscriber growth at HBO Max, continued momentum at the company’s studios, and improving trends across linear networks during the company’s first-quarter 2026 earnings call. Management also noted that it would not take questions about the proposed Paramount Skydance transaction, though it referenced the agreement and recent shareholder approval in prepared remarks.
Leadership pays tribute to Ted Turner
The call opened with remarks honoring Ted Turner. The operator described Turner as a “giant and visionary” whose businesses—including CNN, TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network, and Turner Classic Movies—“changed the world.” CEO David Zaslav said Turner “inspired a generation” and called him “a great American.”
Streaming expansion pushes HBO Max above subscriber target
Zaslav said Warner Bros. Discovery delivered “another strong quarter,” pointing first to streaming. He said the company launched HBO Max in the U.K., Germany, Italy, and Ireland, describing the move as essential to building a “truly global and scaled streaming service” with a direct relationship to audiences in markets where WBD had previously relied on licensing partnerships.
As a result of the launches, Zaslav said the company “meaningfully exceeded” its guidance of more than 140 million total subscribers by the end of Q1 and expects to finish the year with more than 150 million subscribers globally. He added that the company is seeing “healthy acceleration in subscriber-related revenue growth,” which it expects to increase in Q2 and through the rest of the year.
Zaslav highlighted several content titles as drivers of engagement, saying The Pitt averaged more than 20 million viewers per episode and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms averaged 36 million viewers per episode, making it “among the most popular debut series in HBO history.” He said HBO “has never featured more active shows averaging more than 20 million global viewers than it does right now,” and pointed to comedies, limited series, and international local-language programming as part of a “distinct” offering that “earns a pricing premium through consistent excellence.”
Looking ahead, Zaslav cited Euphoria returning, a new season of House of the Dragon, and upcoming series including Lanterns, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone debuting on Christmas Day.
In response to a question from LightShed Partners analyst Rich Greenfield, Global Streaming and Games CEO J.B. Perrette described a multi-year effort to rebuild the platform, expand internationally, and refine product strategy based on “customer feedback and the data.” Perrette said the service started the period with “mid 90 million subs” and added “almost 50 million subs” while shifting streaming economics, saying the business had been “losing $2 billion” and generated $1.4 billion last year.
Perrette outlined several growth levers he said remain in front of the company, including continued market penetration, a larger content slate, shifting wholesale subscribers into retail (which he said is accretive to ARPU and lifetime value), and a developing international advertising business. He also said engagement and churn metrics in recent months were “the best we’ve seen in the four years that we’ve been here.”
On sports, Perrette said the company recognizes sports’ power in streaming but is focused on doing it “profitably,” describing multiple approaches in different markets, including simulcasts in the U.S., a premium a la carte sports offering in the U.K., sports bundled into the basic tier in Brazil and Mexico, and standalone sports offerings in Chile and Argentina.
Studios: Oscar wins and a larger film slate
Zaslav said the company’s second strategic pillar is “elevating our WB Studios back to industry leadership,” and argued the turnaround has shown up creatively and financially. He said Warner Bros. was recognized with 11 Oscars this year, including One Battle After Another as the studio’s first Best Picture winner in more than a decade, and that it was the “most Oscars in the studio’s 103-year history.”
He said Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group plans to release 14 films in 2026, including Dune: Part Three, Supergirl, Clayface, Practical Magic 2, and Digger starring Tom Cruise. Zaslav added the studio is “slated to release up to 18 films in 2027,” including The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, Batman, and a Superman sequel titled Man of Tomorrow. He also said Warner Bros. Television has “80+ active shows” across more than 20 platforms.
CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels addressed questions from Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall about internal licensing, saying it “really doesn’t make sense to exclude internal content sales from the studio performance.” He said WBD uses an internal fair market value model because the content could alternatively be sold externally. Wiedenfels added that as the company shifted from external licensing to internal utilization, it created value that is eliminated in segment reporting and “sitting on the balance sheet,” which he said is now “beginning to bleed back in a much more material way into our consolidated profits” as internal utilization benefits the P&L over time.
Wiedenfels also pointed to “experiences and consumer products” as a growing profit contributor, citing the opening of a Potter Tour in Tokyo and work on another in Shanghai.
Linear networks: sports, news gains, and a focus on cross-platform returns
On the company’s third strategic pillar—optimizing global linear networks—Zaslav said WBD has worked to keep network brands relevant despite ongoing disruption in traditional TV. He highlighted performance in sports, citing a 50% increase in linear viewership for the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics compared to Beijing 2022, along with more than doubling streaming hours and tripling streaming viewers versus Beijing.
Zaslav also said TNT Sports delivered a “record-breaking March Madness” with the most-watched Men’s National Championship game ever broadcast on TNT Sports, and noted a strong start to the MLB regular season and the NHL playoffs.
In general entertainment, Zaslav said the company saw a 16% sequential improvement in year-over-year delivery trends versus Q4, and that even excluding sports, networks like TLC and TBS grew primetime viewership by double-digit percentages versus the prior year. He said CNN posted 30% year-over-year growth in total minutes spent across platforms in Q1.
Wiedenfels said the company has “long stopped viewing our linear networks as linear networks,” describing creative teams building content meant to work across platforms. He said WBD is generating “significant returns with every dollar” spent in the business and that in some cases “more than 50% of revenue is coming out of streaming utilization of this content.”
Bundling strategy and costs tied to separation and sale process
During Q&A with MoffettNathanson analyst Robert Fishman, management reiterated its belief that the streaming marketplace will evolve toward bundling and consolidation. Zaslav argued that navigating “15 to 20 choices of apps” is “not a good consumer experience,” and said the company has been working on bundling, pointing to lower churn and improved economics observed in industry examples.
Perrette said WBD has expanded bundles over time, citing the Disney bundle in the U.S. and partnerships including RTL+ in Germany and Viu in Southeast Asia, as well as bundles across Latin America and other markets. He said the company’s “highest LTV subscribers” are “meaningfully” coming from bundled arrangements, citing benefits to marketing costs and churn.
Barclays analyst Kannan Venkateshwar asked about costs tied to the planned separation. Wiedenfels said separation-related expenses are still flowing through results but are largely “below the line” with “a very marginal impact only on EBITDA.” He added that below-the-line items include expenses related to the sale process and the pending transaction, and said free cash flow will continue to be impacted by items such as advisory fees, incremental interest from bridge financing, and tax leakage. Wiedenfels said the company saw roughly $100 million in negative cash impact in Q1 and expects more through the rest of the year.
Zaslav said the most significant event of the quarter was reaching an agreement for Paramount Skydance to acquire WBD at a cash price of $31 per share, adding that shareholders “voted to approve the sale” two weeks prior to the call.
About Warner Bros. Discovery NASDAQ: WBD
Warner Bros. Discovery NASDAQ: WBD is a global media and entertainment company formed when WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc combined their businesses in 2022. Headquartered in New York City, the company assembles a broad portfolio of film and television production, linear and cable networks, streaming services and consumer distribution operations. Its assets span well-known studio brands, premium scripted and unscripted programming, news and factual entertainment, and licensed franchise properties.
The company's core activities include film and television production and distribution through units such as Warner Bros.
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