Yahoo Finance Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Delivers Strong Premiere Performance
Warner Bros. Discovery’s WBD HGTV's new competition series, Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge, which features a life-size renovation of the iconic Mattel toy, Barbie Dreamhouse, attracted nearly four million total viewers with its premiere episode.
The show, hosted by supermodel, designer, author and entrepreneur Ashley Graham, achieved remarkable ratings among its audience. The first episode received a .77 live-plus-three-day (L3) rating among women aged 25-54 and a .55 L3 rating among adults aged 25-54, showing a significant increase of 75% and 67%, respectively, from the previous year's levels.
Additionally, the premiere earned a .79 L3 rating among upscale women aged 25-54 and a .55 L3 rating among upscale adults aged 25-54, boasting a remarkable increase of 109% and 123%, respectively, from the previous year.
Moreover, the Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge premiere ranked among the top five cable premieres in its 8-9:30 p.m. timeslot, excluding news and sports, among women aged 25-54, adults between 25 and 54, upscale women aged 25-54 and upscale adults in the 25-54 age group.
The content related to the Jul 16 episode, which included exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and sneak peeks, garnered more than nine million views on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram and Threads. Additionally, the premiere episode received more than 450,000 page views on HGTV.com.
Shares of the company have gained 36.4% year to date compared with the Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector’s rise of 14.3% in the same period due to steady growth in DTC subscribers and revenues.
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. Price and Consensus
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. Quote
Upcoming Content to Boost Top Line Amid Competition
Warner Bros. Discovery announced an impressive lineup of content, which is expected to boost the top line in the upcoming quarters. This lineup includes shows like American Dad!, Tiny Toons Looniversity and Christina on the Coast.
The company is benefiting from the rise in total direct-to-consumer (DTC) subscribers. WBD witnessed strong DTC revenue growth in the first quarter of 2023. This trend is expected to continue in the second quarter of 2023.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for total DTC subscribers is pegged at 98,700, indicating year-over-year growth of 7.28%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $2.51 billion, indicating year-over-year growth of 4.4%.
American Dad! is set to make its return on Sep 4, airing at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The 18th season will feature the familiar voices of Seth MacFarlane, Wendy Schaal, Scott Grimes, Rachael MacFarlane, Jeff Fischer, Dee Bradley Baker and Patrick Stewart.
Tiny Toons Looniversity serves as a reboot of the beloved Tiny Toon Adventures show, catering to a new generation of viewers. The storyline revolves around Babs, Buster and their new companions Hamton, Plucky and Sweetie, as they attend Acme Looniversity, a prestigious school known for teaching the art of comedic mischief.
HGTV has renewed the popular docu-series, Christina on the Coast, featuring real estate expert and designer Christina Hall. The new episodes are expected to premiere in 2024, while the ongoing season of Christina on the Coast is currently airing on HGTV.
Upcoming content from Netflix NFLX, Amazon AMZN prime and Disney DIS is expected to give stiff competition to this Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) company.
Netflix, being the worldwide leader in streaming, is expected to invest a substantial amount in content. Some of its upcoming releases include The King Who Never Was, You: Season 4 and Still Time.
Amazon’s Prime, one of the giants in the online streaming industry, is also gearing up with promising projects like The Boys, DOM and Citadel, which are expected to do well and attract new subscribers.
Disney has exciting series in the pipeline, such as Star Wars: Visions, Loki Season 2 and Ironheart. Disney is recognised as a direct competitor to WBD due to the same content genre and target audience.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
The Walt Disney Company (DIS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) : Free Stock Analysis Report
