Warner Bros. Discovery was able to write off between $2 billion and $2.5 billion in 2022's third fiscal quarter due to its major content purge.
As reported by IndieWire, these major savings, referred to by the company's accountants as "content impairment and development write-offs," are part of bigger third quarter "pre-tax restructuring charges," which ultimately amount to a number between $3.2 billion and $4.3 billion. WBD noted that there will be more restructuring happening in the near future, adding, "While the Company’s restructuring efforts are ongoing, including the strategic analysis of content programming which could result in additional impairments above the estimate provided above, the restructuring initiatives are expected to be substantially completed by the end of 2024."
WBD's content purge caused quite a stir when the company decided to cancel DC's Batgirl in August, despite the film being nearly complete. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav indicated that the decision to scrap Batgirl was in part to "protect the DC brand," while other sources claim that "the decision was not driven by the quality of the film or the commitment of the filmmakers, but by the desire for the studio’s slate of DC features to be at a blockbuster scale." Test audiences who were able to view early screenings of the film compared it to a "bad episode of TV."
While Batgirl was one of the earlier projects caught up in WBD's content purge, a significant amount of projects were delayed and/or canceled, including a massive overhaul of HBO Max's content library. It was reported that this move saved the company "tens of millions of dollars."
Meanwhile, the release dates for both Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and Shazam! Fury of the Gods was delayed significantly, reportedly due to the company's financial troubles. The release date for Shazam! Fury of the Gods was pushed from Dec. 21, 2022 to March 17, 2022, a move that director David F. Sandberg ultimately agreed with. "On the one hand I'm very eager for the movie to come out, but March is probably a better date for it," he said.
Amidst cancellations, layoffs and an ongoing lawsuit, Zaslav responded to rumors in September that claimed WBD was being primed for purchase. "We are not for sale, absolutely, not for sale," he said. "We have the strongest hand in the industry. We have everything we need to be successful to be the biggest entertainment media company in the world."
Source: IndieWire