Skydance, in its first earnings report after completing its megadeal for Warner Bros. Discovery, outlined where it expects to drive synergies and cost savings and teased a bundle of HBO Max and Paramount+ for early 2027, as well as an investor day in the first half of next year.
The company reported Q3 earnings Monday afternoon, with revenue of $7 billion, net earnings of $73 million and adjusted EBITDA of $1 billion, all skewed a bit by the fact that the WBD deal did not close until after the quarter ended. As a result, none of WBD’s results are included in the report, which was authored by CEO David Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz.
Instead, it is the deal and what it means for Skydance’s future that will dominate the earnings conversation, with the looming bundle surely top of mind for investors and consumers, ahead of an inevitable merger of the services in the future. The move is similar to Disney’s approach with Hulu, where those two services remain distinct, but also have become increasingly intertwined.
As for where the cost savings will be found?
Skydance says it expects at least $2.2 billion
Skydance says it expects at least $2.2 billion from corporate overhead, real estate and facilities as they rationalize office space and eliminate duplicitous corporate roles; $1 billion from marketing by streamlining spend and utilizing their own platforms for more promotional work; $1.2 billion from technology as they unify tech stacks and products; $1.4 billion from procurement and vendor management.
The company also says that it sees an opportunity for savings in content, though it reiterated that it still expects to spend $30 billion on content each year.
“With the reach of our combined platforms across streaming, broadcast and cable, each title can work harder for us, and as one company we can make smarter choices about how we distribute and monetize our slate,” the executives wrote.
More to come.
