HBO and Max Marketing Team Hit With Layoffs

Warner Bros. Discovery’s cuts are in the double digits, a person familiar with the matter tells TheWrap

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav speaks at the unveiling of the new Max streaming service on Wednesday, April 12, at the Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank, Calif.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav speaks at the unveiling of the new Max streaming service on Wednesday, April 12, at the Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank, Calif.

Warner Bros. Discovery has cut staff from its marketing team for HBO and Max.

A person familiar with the matter told TheWrap that the layoffs are in the double digits, though a specific figure was not made available. Representatives for HBO and Max declined to comment.

The cuts to HBO and Max’s marketing department come after WBD previously laid off 70 HBO Max employees in August 2022, with cuts at the time affecting HBO Max Originals Nonfiction and Live Action, International Originals, Casting and Content Acquisitions.

Other areas within WBD that have recently been hit by layoffs include its corporate communications and PR teams, as well as its cable news, legal and production divisions.

The latest downsizing for the media giant comes after the company shed 1.8 million DTC subscribers during its second quarter of 2023 for a total of 95.8 million globally.

The direct to consumer division, which executives have said is on track to be profitable in the U.S. by the end of the year, reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of $3 million during the quarter, a $555 million year-over-year improvement.

Looking ahead, Warner Bros. Discovery said it expects to generate cash flow in the “$1.7 billion ballpark” in the third quarter and $4.5 billion to $5 billion for full year 2023. The forecast assumes cash restructuring and integration-related costs of roughly $1.2 billion for 2023.

The company expects adjusted EBITDA for the year to settle towards the low end of its target range of $11 billion to $11.5 billion. In the DTC segment, WBD expects EBITDA losses of “no more than a couple hundred million dollars” for full year 2023.

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