WBD partners with Roku and Tubi for content

Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. has agreements with streaming platforms Roku Inc. and Fox Corp.'s Tubi to licence 2,000 hours of movies and TV shows.

The arrangements cover the science fiction western "Westworld," the reality show "Cake Boss," and the reality dating series "F-Boy Island." Warner Bros. is looking for new ways to monetise its collection of movies and TV shows.

The streamers revealed on Tuesday that they intended to use the material to launch free, ad-supported TV (or FAST) channels branded with the Warner Bros.

According to Tubi, it intends to launch 11 genre-specific channels, including "WB TV Sweet Escapes," which will showcase baking competitions.

The agreement represents a change in Warner Bros Discovery's streaming strategy, which previously restricted the studio's motion pictures and television shows to the HBO Max subscription service. The company is currently starting to sell movies and TV series to outside parties.

HBO Max is a part of Warner Bros. Discovery's streaming service, which had a $1.38 billion loss for the first nine months of 2022.
The studio is attempting to profit from a rapidly expanding area of streaming that business executives believe would enhance subscription streaming services. Ad income on FAST channels, according to one analyst (nScreen Media), may total $4.1 billion this year.

This is the fastest-growing sector of the viewing economy, according to seasoned television executive Evan Shapiro. There are many who believe it will soon essentially replace cable.

The National Hockey League, NBCUniversal, and AMC Networks Inc. all introduced FAST channels in the previous year. People with knowledge of the situation claim that Zaslav's ambition to more widely licence the studio's content and profit from its extensive library of movies and television shows is compatible with the FAST channels.

Zaslav told investors that the business intends to "aggressively" combat ad-supported streaming with its own FAST streaming service.

During the November quarterly investor call, he remarked: "We have a unique opportunity to grow our addressable market and produce value, and we want to move rapidly. "Keep it tuned."

In comparison to Netflix Inc. or Walt Disney Co., Warner Bros. Discovery reported having 94.9 million subscribers overall as of September for its streaming services HBO Max and Discovery+.
The media business acknowledges losses from a restructure and writedowns related to the merger, but it nevertheless invests in technology, content, and promotions.

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