S&P: Weaker Linear TV Performance Hurting Warner Bros. Discovery
S&P said Tuesday it was lowering its credit outlook for Warner Bros. Discovery due to challenges with its linear TV networks. Accelerating revenue declines at the networks, plus higher costs from newly acquired sports rights content, will offset growth at…
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WBD's studio and streaming segments, S&P said. It expects WBD linear advertising to drop 11% from pressure on audience ratings and a comparatively smaller amount of sports coverage. Linear distribution is also expected to decline 8% due to slower rates of price increases and more subscription fees being allocated to streaming. S&P said WBD's advertising and distribution performance has lagged behind peers in part because of its weaker portfolio of domestic sports rights, with the loss of NBA broadcast rights after the 2024-25 season exacerbating that.