Warner Bros. Discovery says its done axing content in 2023

Last year, WarnerMedia and Discovery merged into a new media conglomerate: Warner Bros. Discovery. Under CEO David Zaslav, the company began an aggressive campaign of cost cutting measures. In one of the most high-profile moves, they canceled the movie Batgirl even though it was done shooting. They also laid off employees, canceled shows like Westworld and Raised by Wolves and removed some content from HBO Max.

It’s been a bloodbath over there. However, during a Media Conference last week, Warner Bros. Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiendenfels said that the company is hoping to leave all of these measures in 2022, per Variety. “We took a little bit of time to make sure that we do it properly,” he explained. “For some of the titles, we’ve found new homes elsewhere. That’s why this took six or seven months. But I think we’ve come to great solutions and, most importantly, we’re done with that chapter.”

Hopefully Weindenfels’ words ring true and the content purging is at an end. “That was very important to all of us, to really use 2022 to leave the purchase accounting behind us, leave those initial strategy changes behind us, get it all out there in terms of our restructuring estimates and then be able to turn the page forward,” he continued. “I think the team has laid a great foundation and I’m really excited about the growth from here.”

Warner Bros. Discovery thinks spending was out of control before cuts

Looking back on the cuts, Weindenfels said they were in part a “reflection of an industry that went overboard.” They want to rein that in. “We’re coming from an irrational time of overspending with limited focus on return on investment.”

There are some bright spots ahead of the studio. This year, they will be rolling out a new streaming service that combines HBO Max and Discovery+, which will offer customers more content (hopefully not for a higher price). And then there’s the rebuilding of DC Studios that’s happening under James Gunn and Peter Safran. Time will tell if these efforts work out.

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