Business Segments · Content expense
Studios — Content expense
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. Studios — Content expense decreased by 10.5% to $1.60B in Q1 2026 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric grew by 19.7%, from $1.34B to $1.60B. Over 3 years (FY 2022 to FY 2025), Studios — Content expense shows an upward trend with a 4.6% CAGR.
Analysis
StatementSegment
CategoryProfitability
SignalContext dependent
VolatilityModerate
First reportedQ1 2022
Last reportedQ1 2026
How to read this metric
Rising content expense is necessary for growth but must be balanced against revenue generation to maintain profitability.
Detailed definition
The costs incurred to produce, acquire, and amortize content for the studios segment. This includes production budgets,...
Peer comparison
The primary operating cost for any media production business.
Metric ID:
wbd_segment_studios_content_expenseHistorical Data
17 periods
| Q1 '22 | Q2 '22 | Q3 '22 | Q4 '22 | 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 | $1.55B | $1.55B | $1.55B | $1.55B | $1.78B | $1.78B | $1.78B | $1.78B | $1.95B | $1.53B | $1.68B | $2.10B | $1.34B | $2.14B | $1.84B | $1.79B | $1.60B |
| QoQ Change | — | +0.0% | +0.0% | +0.0% | +14.6% | +0.0% | +0.0% | +0.0% | +9.7% | -21.4% | +9.3% | +25.6% | -36.3% | +59.4% | -13.7% | -2.8% | -10.5% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | +14.6% | +14.6% | +14.6% | +14.6% | +9.7% | -13.8% | -5.8% | +18.3% | -31.3% | +39.4% | +10.0% | -14.8% | +19.7% |
Range$1.34B – $2.14B
CAGR+0.8%
Avg YoY Growth+6.9%
Median YoY Growth+14.6%
Current Streak3 quarters decline
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.'s studios — content expense?
- Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) reported studios — content expense of $1.60B in Q1 2026.
- How has Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.'s studios — content expense changed year-over-year?
- Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.'s studios — content expense increased by 19.7% year-over-year, from $1.34B to $1.60B.
- What is the long-term trend for Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.'s studios — content expense?
- Over 3 years (2022 to 2025), Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.'s studios — content expense has grown at a 4.6% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $6.21B to $7.11B.
- What does studios — content expense mean?
- Total costs related to creating and acquiring movies and television shows for the studios division.