Closure of GCN+ cost Warner Bros £3m, new account filings reveal

The closure of the GCN+ streaming app in late 2023 set Warner Bros. Discovery back more than £3m in “restructuring costs”, the company’s latest annual accounts reveal.

Covering the period to the end of December 2024, and published this week, the accounts for WBD Sports Holding Limited show a pre-tax loss of close to £38m, almost all of which is due to the company’s dealings with Play Sports Network Limited, the parent company of the YouTube channel GCN.

WBD wholly owned Play Sports Network until June 2024, when it reduced its shareholding to 30%, and sold a majority share back to its original founder Simon Wear and CEO Mia Walter. Alongside the deal, WBD wrote off more than £33m of debt outstanding from Play Sports Network, which forms the lion’s share of the company’s losses for 2024.

Also in the company accounts are £3,192,397 of “exceptional administrative expenses”, explained as “restructuring costs” specifically related to the closure of the GCN+ app that WBD “committed to pay”.

Launched in early 2021, GCN+ provided live streaming of road, mountain bike and cyclo-cross races from around the world, uninterrupted by adverts, for £6.99 a month, or £39.99 a year. It came in tandem with the GCN App, which also homed more than 200 documentaries.

On 19 December 2023, less than three years after its launch, GCN+ and the GCN App were axed by WBD in a move from the company to “consolidate its streaming services”. Cycling was then moved to WBD’s Discovery+ streaming platform, and in February 2025, the sport was placed within a broader sports subscription package, priced at £30.99 a month – more than four times the GCN+ offering.

Play Sports Network, GCN’s parent company, also faced financial repercussions from the closure of GCN+.

Writing in the company’s annual accounts covering 2024, also published this week, CEO Walter said: “Play Sports Network Limited revenue decreased significantly from £24.0m in 2023 to £10.3m in 2024. This was mainly driven by the closure of the GCN+ app on the 19 December 2023. This accounted for £9.7m of revenue in 2023.”

The company’s 2023 accounts noted “restructuring costs” of £1.7m related to the closure of the GCN+ service and app.

In 2024, Play Sports Network significantly reduced its pre-tax losses, from almost £9.5m the previous year, to £31,204. Part of this came from a decrease in staff costs, to the tune of £6.8m, following the closure of GCN+.