WarnerMedia CFO On Discovery Merger: 'We Know Consumers Need and Want More Content'
As consumers make choices between streaming services, WarnerMedia is hoping that offering a wide variety of content will entice audiences.
And with the Discovery merger expected to close in mid-year 2022, the company is working towards its goal of expanding its offerings.
"We have a really complementary, deep library of content with Discovery, and so we're excited about what the future holds," WarnerMedia Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Biry told Cheddar News. "We know that consumers need and want more content."
WarnerMedia posted solid quarterly results, with revenue surpassing $8 billion dollars as its entertainment business continues to boom. The media and entertainment giant saw wild success with its HBO Max division, which reached nearly 70 million subscribers globally.
Part of HBO Max's expansion began in June with the introduction of a free, ad-supported model.
"Customers who have purchased the product are deeply engaged with it," Biry said. "I think next year you'll continue to see that momentum grow as there's very little discrepancy next year between the products, because all the theatrical movies will launch the same date."
HBO Max was only available in the U.S. at the beginning of 2021. Now, it's currently in 46 countries, including most recently Spain and the Nordic region. WarnerMedia plans to produce local language content in these regions as well, and expand further in Europe in 2022.
"We saw with the pandemic we saw a significant increase in consumption on the platform," she said. "And so we are investing significantly more in our content because as I mentioned, more is better."
Plenty of retailers and suppliers are reducing the variety of their offerings to focus instead on what they think will sell best. Many businesses have decided less is better, justifying their limited selection by asserting shoppers don’t want so much choice.
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