{"id":1784681,"date":"2022-12-23T08:01:14","date_gmt":"2022-12-23T13:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1784681"},"modified":"2022-12-23T08:05:10","modified_gmt":"2022-12-23T13:05:10","slug":"ceo-david-zaslav-reportedly-ignored-90-of-advice-from-a-hollywood-insider-to-get-cash-flowing-again-at-warner-bros","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ceo-david-zaslav-reportedly-ignored-90-of-advice-from-a-hollywood-insider-to-get-cash-flowing-again-at-warner-bros\/","title":{"rendered":"CEO David Zaslav Reportedly Ignored 90% Of Advice From a Hollywood Insider To Get \u201cCash Flowing Again\u201d at Warner Bros."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">40<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fceo-david-zaslav-reportedly-ignored-90-of-advice-from-a-hollywood-insider-to-get-cash-flowing-again-at-warner-bros%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1784681&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p><span>If 2022 has proven anything, it\u2019s that Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is serious about turning the company into a net moneymaker again. To do that, he has to have money to spend, and even though there are billions in debt to pay down, the boss man is making it clear he is invested (pun intended) in getting the cash flowing again.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_126289\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-126289\" class=\"wp-image-126289\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2021.07.18-06.07-boundingintocomics-60f46de289170-e1626631710840-1340x713-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2021.07.18-06.07-boundingintocomics-60f46de289170-e1626631710840-1340x713-1.png 1340w, https:\/\/boundingintocomics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/2021.07.18-06.07-boundingintocomics-60f46de289170-e1626631710840-300x160.png 300w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2021.07.18-06.07-boundingintocomics-60f46de289170-e1626631710840-768x409-1.png 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2021.07.18-06.07-boundingintocomics-60f46de289170-e1626631710840-1536x818-1.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2021.07.18-06.07-boundingintocomics-60f46de289170-e1626631710840-750x400-1.png 750w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2021.07.18-06.07-boundingintocomics-60f46de289170-e1626631710840.png 1920w\"   style=\"display:none\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-126289\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bugs Bunny and LeBron as Batman &#038; Robin in Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021), Warner Bros. Pictures YouTube<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong>\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/boundingintocomics.com\/2022\/12\/19\/hbo-max-head-of-original-content-says-harry-potter-fans-clamoring-for-more-storytelling-warner-discovery-ceo-david-zaslav-willing-to-work-with-j-k-rowling\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HBO Max Head of Original Content Says \u2018Harry Potter\u2019 Fans \u201cClamoring For More Storytelling,\u201d Warner Discovery CEO David Zaslav Willing To Work With J.K. Rowling<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2022\/12\/06\/david-zaslav-warner-bros-discovery-cash-flow-debt.html\"><span>This is according to <em>CNBC<\/em><\/span><\/a> as the finance news outlet describes Zaslav\u2019s strategy, one an expert close to him says will become his legacy. \u201cWhenever I talk to David, the first thing I say is manage your cash,\u201d WBD board member John Malone said. \u201cCash generation will ultimately be the metric that David\u2019s success or failure will be judged on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019s not going to be an easy road. \u201cIt isn\u2019t going to be overnight, and there\u2019s going to be a lot of grumbling because you don\u2019t generate $3.5 billion of operating synergies without, you know, breaking a few eggs today,\u201d Malone added. $3.5B is the amount of cost Zaslav promised investors he would cut.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_140772\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-140772\" class=\"wp-image-140772\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2021.12.12-01.22-boundingintocomics-61b54ec993176.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"505\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2021.12.12-01.22-boundingintocomics-61b54ec993176.jpg 750w, https:\/\/boundingintocomics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/2021.12.12-01.22-boundingintocomics-61b54ec993176-300x152.jpg 300w\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-140772\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">John Malone Interview on CNBC Exclusive<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>That\u2019s higher than the initial promise of $3B, but cutting costs is only part of the objective. Cash is key, particularly loose cash that can be spent. Zaslav needs it to pay off some debt and he\u2019s not getting a lot of it from operating activities, which was $1.5B for the first nine months of 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Down from last year\u2019s count of $1.9B, Zaslav also faces a negative free cash flow problem that turned Wall Street bearish on his company. At -$192 million in free cash flow, he has to convince them WBD is a safe investment and that long\u2013term they can generate the kind of funds that the Hollywood conglomerate used to.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_138735\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-138735\" class=\"wp-image-138735\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2021.11.24-04.39-boundingintocomics-619e6acfeae2f.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"442\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2021.11.24-04.39-boundingintocomics-619e6acfeae2f.jpg 1172w, https:\/\/boundingintocomics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/2021.11.24-04.39-boundingintocomics-619e6acfeae2f-300x133.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2021.11.24-04.39-boundingintocomics-619e6acfeae2f-768x339-1.jpg 768w\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-138735\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lex Luthor in DC League of Super-Pets (2022)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong>\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/boundingintocomics.com\/2022\/11\/28\/david-zaslav-calls-rebuilding-dc-and-warner-bros-is-more-challenging-than-we-thought-we-have-an-awful-lot-to-do-and-an-awful-lot-to-undo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">David Zaslav Admits Rebuilding DC and Warner Bros. Is \u201cMore Challenging Than We Thought\u201d, Confirms Studio Has \u201cAn Awful Lot To Do, And An Awful Lot To Undo\u201d<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>But to do that, he needs them to focus on a desirable unit of measure. \u201cYou should be measuring us in free cash flow and EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization],\u201d Zaslav said at a RBC Capital Markets investor conference last month. \u201cWe\u2019re driving for free cash flow.\u201d It sounds good but unfortunately, freeing up cash comes with sacrifices.<\/p>\n<p>Employees are going to eat those words because more downsizing is coming. As of mid-December, thousands of people have been laid off this year and this is simply \u201ca head start.\u201d Says <em>CNBC,<\/em> \u201cZaslav is trying to give Warner Bros. Discovery a head start on what may be a year of downsizing among large media and entertainment companies.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_192622\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-192622\" class=\"size-full wp-image-192622\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2022.12.13-02.08-boundingintocomics-6398874a0ed0f.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2022.12.13-02.08-boundingintocomics-6398874a0ed0f.png 1000w, https:\/\/boundingintocomics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2022.12.13-02.08-boundingintocomics-6398874a0ed0f-300x160.png 300w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2022.12.13-02.08-boundingintocomics-6398874a0ed0f-768x410-1.png 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2022.12.13-02.08-boundingintocomics-6398874a0ed0f-750x400-1.png 750w\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-192622\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Batman (Michael Keaton) is taken by surprise by Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer) in Batman Returns (1992), Warner Bros. Pictures<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>WBD expects the downsizing to yield them $3B in free cash flow this year, roughly $4B in 2023, and about $6B in 2024; additionally, the estimated 2023 EBITDA is $12B. Though those are internal estimates and a very high bar, the numbers give WBD a selling point over Disney who according to CNBC made just $1B of free cash flow this year.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the growth of Disney Plus and their theme parks, in reality, for all their growth, they are a drain because they are such a heavy investment. Disney\u2019s operating income, $4.2B, was down 42 percent from last year and they look to refocus on making a profit now that Bob Iger is back in power as CEO.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_192508\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-192508\" class=\"wp-image-192508\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2022.12.13-12.38-boundingintocomics-6397c9a01c62e.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"561\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2022.12.13-12.38-boundingintocomics-6397c9a01c62e.jpg 850w, https:\/\/boundingintocomics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2022.12.13-12.38-boundingintocomics-6397c9a01c62e-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2022.12.13-12.38-boundingintocomics-6397c9a01c62e-768x431-1.jpg 768w\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-192508\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An Interview With Disney\u2019s Bob Iger | The Problem With Jon Stewart<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong>\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/boundingintocomics.com\/2022\/12\/14\/disney-ceo-bob-iger-advocates-for-increased-gun-control-measures-there-is-no-greater-or-more-important-task-than-ensuring-the-safety-and-well-being-of-our-children\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Disney CEO Bob Iger Advocates For Increased Gun Control Measures: \u201cThere Is No Greater Or More Important Task Than Ensuring The Safety And Well-Being Of Our Children\u201d<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Zaslav and Discovery on the other hand were a cash machine \u201cgenerating over $3 billion in free cash flow for a long time.\u201d Now that the merger with WB is in full effect he stares down the barrel of \u201c$40 billion of revenue and almost no free cash flow, with all of the great IP that they have.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Decisions he\u2019s made, films he\u2019s scrapped, and the coming overhaul of HBO Max have made him into a villain in the eyes of some who\u2019d rather he put audiences ahead of stockholders. It\u2019s a business-savvy thing to do but others say Zaslav has ignored 90 percent of the advice he\u2019s given on how to run a business in Hollywood.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_193558\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-193558\" class=\"size-full wp-image-193558\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2022.12.20-02.32-boundingintocomics-63a11ea952fcd.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2022.12.20-02.32-boundingintocomics-63a11ea952fcd.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/boundingintocomics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2022.12.20-02.32-boundingintocomics-63a11ea952fcd-300x160.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2022.12.20-02.32-boundingintocomics-63a11ea952fcd-768x410-1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2022.12.20-02.32-boundingintocomics-63a11ea952fcd-750x400-1.jpg 750w\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-193558\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rick Sanchez (Justin Roiland) and Morty Smith (Justin Roiland) break down in tears after barely making it alive in Rick and Morty Season 3 Episode 6 \u2018Rest and Ricklaxation\u2019 (2017) via Warner Bros. Television<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>As much as that rings of irresponsibility, he counters he is merely being precise. \u201cWe\u2019re going to spend more on content \u2014 but you\u2019re not going to see us come in and go, \u2018Alright, we\u2019re going to spend $5 billion more,\u2019\u201d he said last February. \u201cWe\u2019re going to be measured, we\u2019re going to be smart and we\u2019re going to be careful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And if you think Zaslav is acting blindly or wouldn\u2019t be advised to act as he has so far, there are investors and firms who \u2013 seeing that the current Hollywood business model isn\u2019t working \u2013 believe in what he is doing. \u201cIncredible! Yes, Zaslav wants a profitable business, not the Debtflix model of cash burn &#038; endless spending,\u201d Masa Capital\u2019s Twitter says to CNBC.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_193935\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-193935\" class=\"size-full wp-image-193935\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2022.12.22-02.31-boundingintocomics-63a46a4136fd2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"604\" height=\"577\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2022.12.22-02.31-boundingintocomics-63a46a4136fd2.png 604w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2022.12.22-02.31-boundingintocomics-63a46a4136fd2-300x287-1.png 300w\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-193935\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Masa Capital Twitter<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>NEXT: <a class=\"LinkSuggestion__Link-sc-1gewdgc-4 iyHtHS\" href=\"https:\/\/boundingintocomics.com\/2022\/10\/03\/warner-bros-discovery-being-sued-for-inflating-hbo-max-subscriber-numbers-by-ten-million-users\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Warner Bros. Discovery Being Sued For Inflating HBO Max Subscriber Numbers By Ten Million Users<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If 2022 has proven anything, it\u2019s that Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is serious about turning the company into a net moneymaker again. To do that, he has to have money to spend, and even though there are billions in debt to pay down, the boss man is making it clear he is invested &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1784684,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[6962,11361,7033,4237,5458,6965,4119,3850,4044,11137,3668,10988,4361,5585,11362,3819,4292,6976,9628],"class_list":["post-1784681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report","tag-the","tag-11361","tag-advice","tag-again","tag-bongino","tag-bros","tag-cash","tag-ceo","tag-david","tag-flowing","tag-from","tag-get","tag-hollywood","tag-ignored","tag-insider","tag-report","tag-reportedly","tag-warner","tag-zaslav"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1784681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1784681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1784681\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1784684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1784681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1784681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1784681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}