Business Segments · Content expense
Streaming — Content expense
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. Streaming — Content expense decreased by 0.8% to $1.53B in Q1 2026 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric grew by 1.8%, from $1.50B to $1.53B. Over 2 years (FY 2023 to FY 2025), Streaming — Content expense shows relatively stable performance with a -2.4% CAGR.
Analysis
StatementSegment
CategoryProfitability
SignalContext dependent
VolatilityStable
First reportedQ1 2023
Last reportedQ1 2026
How to read this metric
Rising content expense is necessary for growth but must be balanced against revenue to ensure long-term profitability.
Detailed definition
The costs associated with producing, acquiring, and amortizing content for the streaming platform. This is typically the...
Peer comparison
Commonly referred to as 'Content Amortization' or 'Programming Costs' in the streaming industry.
Metric ID:
wbd_segment_streaming_content_expenseHistorical Data
13 periods
| Q1 '23 | Q2 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q4 '23 | Q1 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q4 '24 | Q1 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q4 '25 | Q1 '26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $1.61B | $1.61B | $1.61B | $1.61B | $1.57B | $1.70B | $1.47B | $1.45B | $1.50B | $1.60B | $1.50B | $1.54B | $1.53B |
| QoQ Change | — | +0.0% | +0.0% | +0.0% | -2.9% | +8.4% | -13.5% | -1.6% | +3.9% | +6.4% | -6.4% | +3.1% | -0.8% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | -2.9% | +5.3% | -8.9% | -10.3% | -4.0% | -5.8% | +1.8% | +6.7% | +1.8% |
Range$1.45B – $1.70B
CAGR-1.7%
Avg YoY Growth-1.8%
Median YoY Growth-2.9%
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.'s streaming — content expense?
- Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) reported streaming — content expense of $1.53B in Q1 2026.
- How has Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.'s streaming — content expense changed year-over-year?
- Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.'s streaming — content expense increased by 1.8% year-over-year, from $1.50B to $1.53B.
- What is the long-term trend for Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.'s streaming — content expense?
- Over 2 years (2023 to 2025), Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.'s streaming — content expense has grown at a -2.4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $6.45B to $6.15B.
- What does streaming — content expense mean?
- The total cost of creating and licensing content for the streaming service.