Warner Bros. Discovery may lay off more employees, streaming subscription prices are about to increase

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is reportedly looking for more ways to cut costs and boost revenue, which could include raising subscription prices for streaming platform Max and additional layoffs.

Bloomberg reported more information ahead of Warner Bros. Discovery's earnings conference, which is scheduled to be held later this month. The company laid off more than 2,000 employees last year, but the scale and timing of future layoffs are unclear. The report also said that the company may consider cutting "hundreds of millions of dollars" from the streaming division, mainly from marketing and technology.

As for the streaming price increase, reports say it is coming, but it is not clear when the price increase will come, nor is it clear what the new price will be. Currently, the streaming subscription fee is $10/month, and the premium membership fee without ads is $16/month.

A Warner spokesman declined to comment on possible price increases or cost-cutting and layoffs for the streaming platform, but said the company is currently "focused on long-term growth of the overall business."

As for Warner Bros.' investment plans, Zaslav said the company will focus on the IPs and pillars that are most likely to make money, and to that end the company announced a Harry Potter TV series and a Game of Thrones spin-off. He also said that he believes the company's big moneymakers, including DC superheroes and The Lord of the Rings, are currently "underutilized." This may mean that the company plans to invest further in these IPs in the future.

Warner Bros. Discovery will release its earnings report and answer questions from the media later today (May 9).