The Walt Disney Company has come under fire lately for a lot of its decisions. And particularly this week, the Mouse House has been paying the price for a lot of previous decisions it made—coerced or otherwise. The topic of Disney “losing its touch” and being replaced has come up time and again. However, in the latest developments, some analysts have found that another company, Warner Bros. Discovery, is “the new Disney.”
Warner Bros. Discovery has been noted as having a similar business strategy to Disney. Needham analyst Laura Martin shared in a note, “The strategic position outlined by WBD’s CEO last night mirrors DIS’s diversified rev streams, focus on franchise-based films, multiple DTC apps, margin expansion upside, etc.”
Previously, in the company’s earnings call, David Zaslav stressed that Warner Bros. Discovery’s “IP will be a clear driver in its success, announcing a new production deal for multiple “Lord of the Rings” movies, as well as a continued focus on its revamp of the DC Universe and upcoming streaming initiatives.”
Warner Bros. Discovery also added that it will be increasing its #3.5 billion cost-saving targets to $4 billion over the next two years and will be accompanied by restructuring charges of $5.3 billion. Zaslav shared with investors, “This promises to be a very exciting year for our company…The bulk of our restructuring is behind us.”
A lot of these decisions certainly mirror the Walt Disney Company. Other than the similarities mentioned above, Disney is also going through a massive phase of restructuring (albeit for different reasons) and is looking to focus on “quality over quantity” to cut costs and reduce expenditure.
Warner Bros. Discovery is the parent company Cartoon Network Studios, the DC Studios which is the on-screen version of DC Comics, the Discovery Channel, and more.
While it’s unclear if Warner Bros. Discovery is, in fact, “the new Disney,” as reported by Yahoo Finance, it will be interesting to see how the business strategies for the two entertainment giants develop.