Warner Bros. Discovery Narrows Q3 Loss, but ‘Barbie’ Success Tempered by Advertising Declines

Phil Quartararo, a record executive for five decades at A&M, RCA, Island, EMI, Warner Bros. and Virgin Records, died today of pancreatic cancer in Los Angeles. He was 67.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Phil Quartararo, the veteran record executive who played a major role in the success of the Spice Girls, Linkin Park and many others, has died, Variety has confirmed. Billboard reported that the cause of death was pancreatic cancer; he was 67. A familiar and friendly presence at countless concerts across the decades, “Phil Q.” — pictured above with Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks in 2001 — was renowned for his warm personality and firm handshake.

There aren’t that many original shows on TBS, but another one has been canceled.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor If movie and TV studios get nervous about advertising, so should everyone else. Advertisers loathe controversy, and often “pull” or “yank” their commercials from individual pieces of content that generate it.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor The newest surprise at Fox’s “Masked Singer” isn’t tied to an appearance by a mysterious celebrity. On Wednesday night, the popular reality-competition program will bring an advertiser into its format for the first time since launching in 2019.

Texas congressman Joaquin Castro has taken to X to slam Warner Bros Discovery for axing the $70M Coyote vs. Acme for a reported $30M tax writeoff. That said, as we first reported, the studio is changing course this week and screening the film for potential buyers, i.e. Amazon Prime (a leading contender), Apple and Netflix. This pivot by studio brass was made after a weekend in which the studio’s phone rang off the hook by the creative community over the cancelling of the finished film, as well as an outcry by the pic’s composer Steven Price among others online.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Warner Bros. will be juggling a lot in the Oscar race for best original song. As confirmed by an FYC advertisement sent to Critics Choice Association members, along with the multiple tracks from “Barbie” by Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, the studio will also handle several numbers from their two upcoming holiday movie musicals: “The Color Purple” and “Wonka.” The upcoming adaptation of the musical “The Color Purple” will screen in front of its first official audience of industry voters and journalists next week.

Coyote vs. Acme composer Steven Price has blasted the David Zaslav cost-cutting Warner Bros Discovery administration for axing the animated Looney Tunes hybrid live-action animated film.

Just over a year after scrapping “Batgirl,” Warner Bros. and David Zazlav have killed off another nearly completed feature that was meant to be an HBO Max release and vaulted it instead.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Another Warner Bros. movie bites the dust. The studio no longer plans to release “Coyote vs.

In another maneuver by the David Zaslav-run Warner Bros Discovery to kill movies, we hear on very good authority that Warner Bros will not be releasing the live-action/animated hybrid Coyote vs. Acme with the conglom taking an estimated $30M write-down on the $70M production. We understand the writedown for the pic was applied to the recently reported Q3.

Warner Bros Discovery is reteaming with Taiwanese production company DaMou Entertainment to produce HBO Asia original Fired Up! (working title), an adaptation of hit Kakao webtoon Itaewon Class. 

Don’t expect to see Andor or Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 on Netflix any time soon.

Investors bid down shares of Warner Bros. Discovery today as its chief financial officer described a U.S. ad market “that has continued to be weaker than we had hoped” and a recovery that’s hard to predict “with any conviction.”

Christopher Nolan is freaking me out. “There’s a pretty simple argument mathematically for saying the world will end in nuclear Armageddon simply because that’s a possibility,” he’s calmly explaining. “Over an infinite timeline, it’s going to happen at some point.” It’s hard to dispute Nolan’s logic that civilization will one day vaporize, but as he tops off his mug of Earl Grey tea from a small kettle on the table in front of him, he hits a slightly more hopeful note.

CNN Max is attracting users who are “20 years younger” than traditional TV viewers, according to Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav opened the company’s quarterly earnings presentation with remarks on the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, remaining “hopeful” that the work stoppage will end “soon” following the Hollywood studios’ move to adjust AI language in its “last, best and final offer” to the actors union. “We are hopeful we will reach a resolution to the SAG-AFTRA strike soon,” Zaslav said during WBD’s third-quarter earnings call Wednesday.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s third quarter was mixed with ‘Barbie’ coin and free cash flow beloved by Wall Street offset by sluggish advertising and the impact of the actors’ strike on the one of the industry’s biggest content creators.

Free TV Networks, a new programming entity with a presence in both over-the-air broadcast and streaming, has enlisted Warner Bros. Discovery, Lionsgate and Gray Television as partners and suppliers.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Warner Bros. Discovery, Taiwan Mobile and the Taiwan Creative Content Agency have signed a multi-year memorandum of understanding to create and distribute Taiwanese original content locally and across international markets. The MOU, signed in advance of next week’s TCCF event, combines the expertise and reach of the three companies to develop, produce and distribute local IP and content for both local and global audiences.