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)

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