Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav sees potential upside for Hollywood if the second Donald Trump administration allows for more dealmaking.
Discussing “outright consolidation of an industry that is in a generational disruption” during the company’s third-quarter earnings conference call on Thursday, Zaslav said: “We have an upcoming new administration. It’s too early to tell, but it may offer a pace of change and an opportunity for consolidation that may be quite different, that would provide a real positive and accelerated impact on this industry that’s needed.”
The CEO added: “You know, these are great companies, and if the best content is going to win, there needs to be some consolidation in order to have these businesses be stronger and have a better consumer experience.”
The executive’s comments reflect one C-suite narrative that has taken hold among some executives that a second Trump administration would further push deregulation, freeing up dealmakers. A day before Zaslav’s comments, TV station giant Sinclair’s top executive made similar remarks.
“It does feel like a cloud over the industry is lifting here, and we do think some much needed modernization of the regulations will be forthcoming, and we intend to, as we’ve always said, or consistently over the last few years, we intend to participate in that, in the M&A in the industry, be it as a buyer as a seller or a merger partner,” said Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley.
The comments came after WBD reported third-quarter studios unit revenue that fell 17 percent to $2.68 billion as theatrical revenue fell 40 percent, “primarily driven by lower box office revenue as the performance of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and Twisters in the current year was more than offset by the stronger performance of Barbie in the prior year.” Studios adjusted EBITDA dropped by 58 percent to $308 million.
Games revenue at the studios segment declined 31 percent, also driven by the better performance of the prior- year slate, led by Mortal Kombat 1. And TV revenue increased 30 percent, “primarily driven by higher initial telecast revenue as a result of the impact from the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in the prior year,” WBD said.