10:52 AM EDT, 05/08/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Warner Bros. Discovery's ( WBD ) first-quarter revenue came in weaker than Wall Street's projections amid declines in domestic linear pay TV subscribers, although the media and entertainment giant's loss narrowed more than expected.

Revenue dropped 10% year on year to $8.98 billion for the March quarter and missed the FactSet-polled consensus estimate of $9.59 billion. Net loss improved to $0.18 per share from $0.40 a year earlier, compared with analysts' view for a GAAP loss of $0.19 per share.

Global linear network revenue declined 7% to $4.77 billion as a 9% decrease in domestic linear pay TV subscribers weighed on the segment's distribution channel. Streaming and studios revenue fell 12% at $4.35 billion, led by weakness in studios.

"Internationally, our linear business continues to see pricing and subscriber pressure, albeit at differing paces across regions," the company said in a letter to shareholders, discussing its distribution business.

Warner Bros., which operates the Max streaming service, said that global streaming subscribers increased to 122.3 million in the first quarter from 116.9 million in the prior quarter and 99.6 million a year ago. Shares of the company were up 4.3% in Thursday's trading session.

"Much of that subscriber growth originated from international markets, reflecting recent launches and growing penetration," the company said. "We will drive progress towards our goal of surpassing 150 million global subscribers by the end of 2026 through the strength of our content pipeline, our continuously improving product, as well as the effectiveness of various distribution and marketing strategies."

Overall distribution revenue declined 2%, while advertising fell 8%. Content sales slid 27%.

"While we have yet to see any material impact over the last month, numerous aspects of our business, most particularly advertising, are sensitive to overall macroeconomic conditions," Warner Bros. said. "Significant inflation or other factors that negatively influence consumer sentiment and expenditure could have material impacts."

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