Warner Bros. Discovery Pulling Back From 'More Is Better' Streaming Strategy, Bets Big On Premium Content — And Letting Scooby-Doo Sniff Out New Fans On Netflix - Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS)

Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. WBD is reshaping its streaming strategy, cutting back on sheer content volume and doubling down on premium franchises, all while striking licensing deals like sending Scooby-Doo over to Netflix Inc. NFLX.

What Happened: On Thursday, during the company's first-quarter earnings call, WBD CEO David Zaslav explained how the company is moving away from the old "more is better" streaming mindset.

He praised the success of Warner Bros. Television Group CEO Channing Dungey's team, noting a strong performance with high-profile projects such as "Ted Lasso" and "Presumed Innocent" for Apple Inc. AAPL.

Zaslav highlighted that Presumed Innocent originated as a WBD title and was transformed into a compelling series before being sold to Apple — a deal he described as “very good business” for the company.

He also pointed to other notable titles like Shrinking, Bad Monkey, and Abbott Elementary—the latter being sold to Walt Disney Co. DIS—as evidence of WBD’s reputation as a high-quality content provider.

However, he made a clear distinction when it comes to certain intellectual properties. Core franchises like "Wonder Woman," "Batman," "Superman" and "Supergirl," currently being developed under James Gunn and Peter Safran's 10-year DC roadmap, are being cultivated as global asset builders exclusive to Warner Bros. Discovery.

The WBD CEO said the same applies to "Harry Potter," noting a decade-long commitment with author JK Rowling and "Game of Thrones" as part of the studio's long-term strategy to develop and retain premium, globally recognizable IP.

“Those belong to us and they'll only belong to us forever because we're building big assets and a global differentiated strategy around that,” he stated.

However, Warner Bros. isn't locking up every piece of its massive library. Zaslav pointed to the recent example of Scooby-Doo, where the company sold a new show to Netflix to reach a broader audience.

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"In some cases, we'll find with Scooby-Doo, we can sell something to Ted [Sarandos] and Netflix, and that can get very broad acceptance in the marketplace," Zaslav said. "And then we can follow it with a Scooby-Doo movie — that would be a real win-win for us."

WBD CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels added that this strategy shift does not mean Warner Bros. will dramatically ramp up or slash spending.

"We have significant growth ambitions for the streaming service and for the studio," he said, noting the company will support those goals with moderate increases in content spending over time.

Why It's Important: Warner Bros. posted a 9% year-over-year revenue decline (excluding foreign exchange impacts) to $8.98 billion, falling short of the analyst consensus estimate of $9.60 billion.

Streaming revenue rose 9% year-over-year (excluding foreign exchange effects) to $2.66 billion. The growth was driven in part by an 8% increase in distribution revenue, fueled by a 23% surge in subscribers thanks to Max's ongoing global rollout and new domestic distribution agreements.

Price Action: WBD shares rose 0.43% to $9.05 in Thursday's after-hours trading, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings assigns the stock a growth score of 5.89%. Click here to see how it stacks up against Netflix, Disney, Apple, and other major players.