Netflix to refocus on ads, content after failed Warner Bros bid
By Harshita Mary Varghese and Kritika Lamba
April 15 (Reuters) - Investors will look for Netflix to emphasize content spending and ad business growth as key drivers when it reports quarterly earnings on Thursday, marking the streaming giant's first results since its failed bid for Warner Bros Discovery.
Buying Warner Bros would have handed Netflix a clutch of prized franchises including "Game of Thrones" and "Friends" without the costly effort of building out its own.
Instead, the company will face tougher competition from a combined Warner Bros and Paramount Skydance, if that proposed $110 billion deal closes.
* Netflix is expected to report a 15.5% increase in revenueto $12.18 billion in the first quarter, with $634 million comingfrom advertising, according to analysts polled by LSEG. * The company raised U.S. prices in March, which someanalysts say could lead it to raise its full-year revenueforecast. * The price increase could also nudge more users towards itsad-supported tier, whose revenue remains small. * Netflix shares have gained 13% so far this year, with thestock up about 26% since the company walked away from the $72billion Warner Bros deal. * Investors now expect Netflix to refocus on sports andother live events as it looks to boost ad revenue. * "We're kind of entering another phase for the ad business,where they are becoming one of the largest scaled globaladvertising platforms," said John Belton, portfolio manager atGabelli Funds, which owns Netflix shares. * The company expanded its live programming slate during thequarter, highlighted by a concert by K-pop supergroup BTSstreamed from Seoul that drew 18.4 million viewers worldwide, aswell as the 2026 World Baseball Classic, which became the moststreamed baseball game globally.(Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese and Kritika Lamba in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)