Warner Bros. Discovery could have offered (or extra precisely given away) its stake in The CW two years in the past, however the firm is making an attempt to convey again one of many broadcast community’s hallmarks: A tonnage of output for the WB TV studio.
At a Financial institution of America convention Wednesday, WBD CFO Gunnar Weidenfels stated that when Channing Dungey provides oversight of the corporate’s TV networks on the finish of this 12 months, she is going to search for alternatives to create synergies between the studio and the channels.
“Channing Dungey is now going to get a bit nearer to the community enterprise when Kathleen [Finch] retires,” Weidenfels stated. “I believe that’s going to create some nice cross-pollination between the 2 companies. One of many nice benefits of working The CW previously was that it simply drove a number of quantity, extra at bats for the TV manufacturing enterprise. And we’re trying into what we are able to recreate. Kathleen has already introduced some scripted exhibits returning to TNT — very totally different from what was accomplished previously, once more, with an eye fixed in direction of precise worth creation — however perhaps there’s extra.”
Certainly, Weidenfels framed content material as one of many large “alternatives” for the corporate, even because the cable TV enterprise continues to disintegrate.
“An important level is that we face challenges to the distribution ecosystem, not the content material ecosystem, individuals are consuming greater than ever, we occur to make among the biggest content material on the planet, and the way in which this content material is being consumed is altering however we now have an amazing alternative,” he stated. “Sure, we now have made a number of robust choices, there was a number of give attention to effectivity and value financial savings, however I view this extra as professionalizing the capital allocation of the corporate. Content material is an space entrance and middle the place we’re growing our spend past simply the strike impression of final 12 months.”
Weidenfels characterised his job as “ensuring that we’re stingy within the areas we must be, however generously funding the expansion alternatives.”
One other progress space is gaming, which categorized as a “strategic asset” for the corporate. He famous that the gaming division is struggling, resulting from an enormous miss with a Suicide Squad recreation, in comparison with the large win final 12 months with Hogwarts Legacy. So it is smart that the corporate is already enthusiastic about a sequel to the sport set within the Harry Potter universe.
“It’s, similar to the movie enterprise, a hit-driven enterprise,” he stated. “Clearly a successor to Hogwarts Legacy is without doubt one of the largest priorities in a pair years down the highway.”
And movie is one other space of funding, with DC Studios a key piece of that. The WBD CFO stated that James Gunn and Peter Safran are “revitalizing” the model.
“What meaning is just not solely an built-in story arc over a 10-year canon for DC, but additionally much more thought going into the particular particular person tales, which tales lend themselves for interactive implementation, which tales, which characters are so core for us that we’re by no means going to permit them to be on another platforms, which characters may create nice tales however we may be keen to supply them for third celebration platforms,” he stated.
As for the rumblings that WBD may discover strategic choices (a technique outlined by Financial institution of America’s personal Jessica Reif Ehrlich), Weidenfels prompt that the corporate has explored them, however that it’s about to hit its stride.
“The board, and, you already know, secondarily, the administration workforce have a fiduciary responsibility to judge these alternatives, and you already know, we’re going to be rational in our choice making,” he stated. “However that stated, I believe we’re on the level the place a number of the investments we’ve made with a number of exhausting work throughout each section of this firm over the previous two years which have put us able to now to get among the fruits of that labor.”