Gunnar Wiedenfels: Last News

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The blowback Warner Bros. Discovery received over its cancellation of “Batgirl” was “blown out of proportion,” according to CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels. Last month came word that “Batgirl,” the $90 million Warner Bros./DC movie starring Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon/Batgirl, would not be released theatrically, on HBO Max, or anywhere else. WBD, formed formed earlier this year by Discovery’s acquisition of WarnerMedia, determined that taking a tax write-off for “Batgirl” made more financial sense than releasing it commercially. “To me, you know, it’s blown out of proportion a little bit, in terms of the attention externally,” said Wiedenfels, speaking Thursday at the Bank of America Securities Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference, regarding the “Batgirl” decision. “The focus is, on a go-forward basis here, we’re spending more than ever in the history of the two legacy companies on content. We’re continuing to make significant investments — [but] we’ll make them differently.”

The surprising decision last month to shelve completed DC movie Batgirl was “blown out of proportion” by the press, according to Warner Bros Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorFive years almost to the day after it began, Hollywood’s evangelistic fervor for streaming has been extinguished this week by the “Batgirl” imbroglio. Warner Bros. Discovery’s decision to scrap the completed DC Comics film that was bound for HBO Max marks the boldest example of Old Media economic rigor being applied to contemporary content spending. David Zaslav, CEO of the newly reconfigured media conglomerate, didn’t even mask his bewilderment at the decision-making process and optimistic profit projections made by the previous WarnerMedia regime.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorWarner Bros. Discovery shares were battered Friday on the heels of its after-market second-quarter earnings report on Thursday that revealed the depth of the financial and operational pressures that the newly enlarged conglomerate is facing.WB Discovery shares were down more than 17% at midday to the $14.50 range.

Warner Bros. Discovery plans to launch its streaming service that combines the assets of HBO Max and Discovery+ next summer in the U.S., the company said during its quarterly earnings call Thursday. With a target date set, there is a lot to figure out in the coming months, including what the consolidated platform will be called.

Kids and animated content are set for a broad swath of cuts across Warner Bros. Discovery.

Newly minted Warner Bros. Discovery posted hefty losses and $9.8 billion in revenue at its landmark first earnings report since Warner Media and Discovery formally tied the knot.

HBO Max is undergoing some changes after its parent company merged with Discovery — and some fans are worried about the fate of their favorite shows.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorWarner Bros. Discovery renewed contracts for two of its most senior executives, Gunnar Wiedenfels, its chief financial officer, and Bruce Campbell, its chief revenue and strategy officer, ensuring that two of CEO David Zaslav’s key lieutenants will be around for the next few years of the company’s early steps as the newly combined aggregate of the former WarnerMedia and Discovery Communications.The company said it had extended Wiedenfels’ term through July 10, 2026, and Campbell’s contract through July 8, 2025.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe changes continue to come at Warner Bros. Discovery. Variety has learned exclusively that the newly merged company is planning to sell off its office complex in Knoxville, Tenn.The announcement came from WBD CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels in a memo to the company’s staff obtained by Variety.

Warner Bros Discovery, two months after closing its $43 billion merger, has taken the first step toward reducing its global workforce, initiating voluntary buyouts in its U.S. advertising sales division.

Another top Warner exec, John Rogovin, is heading for the exits amid a major corporate shakeout following the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery last month.

reorganized its marketing department once again, axing writers on its fledgling Tudum fan site five months after launch. And the fallout from the Warner Bros.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterIn the wake of big spender Netflix’s Q1 shocking subscriber loss news, David Zaslav made a point to say Warner Bros. Discovery “will not overspend to drive subscriber growth” during Discovery’s first-quarter earnings call Tuesday.“As you’ve heard me say, we are not trying to win the direct-to-consumer spending war,” the WBD CEO said, instead promising that the newly combined WarnerMedia-Discovery company would “invest in scale smartly.”Warner Bros.

The final bow has been placed atop the $40 billion merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, forming one of the largest pure content players in the media business.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorWarnerMedia and Discovery are on the cusp of officially closing their deal. With the change in leadership at the new Warner Bros. Discovery, will there be pricing changes for the new conglomerate’s flagship HBO Max streaming service?Insiders say there aren’t any immediate plans to alter HBO Max’s pricing scheme — in the U.S., it currently costs $14.99/month without ads, the same as it did when the service debuted in May 2020, and $9.99/month with ads.Similarly, it’s likely that Discovery Plus will remain at $6.99/month without ads and $4.99/month with ads for the time being.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterThey’ll come for the high-wattage HBO and Warner Bros. content. They’ll stick around for Discovery’s lifestyle comfort food.That’s the formula that Warner Bros.

Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel, who has long espoused the benefits of streaming’s boom times, said he’s “not nervous” about Warner Bros Discovery possibly pumping the brakes as it looks to take on Netflix and Disney.

Manori Ravindran International EditorWarner Bros. Discovery’s plans to merge streaming services HBO Max and Discovery Plus in the U.S.

Eventually, HBO Max and Discovery+ will come together as a single streaming offering, but the integration will “take a while,” CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels said at an investor conference today.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterDiscovery — which is about to become Warner Bros. Discovery within the next month, when its merger with AT&T’s WarnerMedia closes — has confirmed its plans to combine its current streaming service Discovery Plus and WarnerMedia’s HBO Max into one service, rather than offer the two platforms as a bundle.Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels, who will also serve as CFO of the newly combined Warner Bros.