Feb 26 (Reuters) - Warner Bros Discovery, at the center of a high-stakes bidding war, reported a 6% drop in quarterly revenue, hurt by declines for its traditional TV and film businesses though its HBO Max streaming service gained subscribers with buzzy series like "Heated Rivalry".
The company in its earnings statement on Thursday did not address its discussions with Paramount Skydance , whose latest offer threatens to upend an existing deal with Netflix. Paramount enticed Warner Bros' board back
to the bargaining table last week by raising the possibility of an improved cash offer.
Warner Bros' overall revenue came in at nearly $9.5 billion, in line with an LSEG consensus estimate.
On the bright side, HBO Max continued to grow, helped by series like "Heated Rivalry" and "It: Welcome to Derry".
Warner Bros added 3.5 million streaming subscribers in the quarter, bringing its total number worldwide to 131.6 million.
The streaming group's revenue rose 5% to nearly $2.8 billion, but adjusted earnings fell 4% to $393 million due to the end of an unspecified distribution deal.
Warner Bros' traditional businesses, however, were hurting, with adjusted income for its film and TV studio group tumbling 23% to $728 million.
The film studio, which released nine movies that opened at the top of the box office in 2025, had no major theatrical releases in the holiday quarter. The television studio, meanwhile, was hit by the timing of content renewals with its revenue sliding 18%.
Warner Bros' television network group, Discovery Linear Networks, saw a continued erosion of its business amid an industry-wide loss of pay TV subscribers.
The television unit's revenue fell to $4.2 billion, down 12% from a year earlier, and adjusted income dropped to $1.4 billion, a 27% plunge from the same quarter a year earlier.
Investor attention is likely to be focused on any clues that may be gained about the deal discussions.
Warner Bros' board has said it has not determined whether the revised Paramount proposal is superior to the merger with Netflix, but that directors will engage further. Should a superior deal emerge, Netflix has four business days to revise its offer.
(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles and Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
