Wednesday 6 July 2022 04:00 AM Warner Discovery CEO says streamers will do fewer shows of higher quality after ... trends now
Warner Discovery CEO David Zaslav says the streaming industry will focus on creating fewer, better shows of higher quality after a Netflix subscriber slump.
Zaslav, 62, who arrived at the the Allen & Co. conference in Sun Valley, Idaho on Tuesday in good spirits, also insisted that he isn't bothered by tanking CNN ratings as the network pivots back to neutral reporting.
Speaking about streamer issues, Zaslav told reporters: 'Warner Bros. Discovery's got great, quality content,' he added. 'So I think the world has changed. And it's not about how much, it's about how good. And so we're pretty excited about our new company and getting to see everybody in this beautiful setting. It's going to be a lot of fun.'
Warner Discovery owns streamer HBO Max, which has a better reputation for high-quality shows than Netflix.
Zaslav didn't reference a single streamer when discussing quality over quantity.
But Netflix's recent shock 200,000 drop in subscribers was blamed on the streamer's drossy content, much of which appeared to prioritize woke issues including pregnant men over entertaining viewers.
Zaslav did praise Netflix's recent decision to release the latest season of its show Stranger Things week-by-week, rather than dumping all episodes at once.
He said: 'I think we're all going to experiment. We gotta create more content that people will pay for before dinner, or that they rush home to see.
'That's our focus: great storytelling. That's what Netflix is focused on. If we continue to do great content we'll do great.'
Zaslav, 62, who arrived at the the Allen & Co. conference in Sun Valley, Idaho on Tuesday in good spirits, also insisted that he isn't bothered by tanking CNN ratings
The media mogul has been running Warner Bros. Discovery since the merger of Discovery Inc. with WarnerMedia was completed in April.
Zaslav is himself rumored to have cut back on orders for his streamers in a bit to shore-up quality.
While HBO Max is the home of buzzy megahits like Euphoria and The Gilded Age, it has faced condemnation over the disappointing Sex and the City reboot And Just Like That.
Zaslav told reporters that he expects the conference
