Market capitalization has halved in the space of a year, and now represents just three to four years of free cash flow. The problem, of course, is the $38 billion in net debt, which represents an additional six to eight years of free cash flow.

The race against time is accelerating, and unfortunately it's against the wind. For some time now, MarketScreener has been warning optimists that the situation resembles a classic trap for enterprising investors - that of taking a contrarian gamble in a structurally declining and overleveraged business.

Unfortunately, the Group's half-year results do not indicate any change in trend, notwithstanding the comments made by CEO David Zaslav, who, one would have thought, said he was "extremely satisfied". It's true that he pocketed $335 million in total compensation over three years. In his place, others would also be "extremely satisfied".

The news is bad on all counts, with the loss of NBA rights and declining sales in all three operating segments. With regard to the streaming segment - which is the focus of the Group's reinvention, and therefore naturally the one most closely scrutinized by investors - the least we can say is that financial communication seems biased.

While David Zaslav welcomes the growth in the number of subscribers - which remains very modest - the reality is that Max continues to lose subscribers in the United States. The increase is only being driven by international sales, where average revenue per subscriber is three times lower; losses in this segment are once again widening.

On a positive note, however: Warner cut costs and improved its operating profit before depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA - provided this indicator has any meaning; moreover, the Group retired $3 billion of debt on good terms, and refinanced part of its bonds at surprisingly attractive rates.

The precedent set by British American Tobacco - which is also facing a structurally declining business, but is still highly profitable -proves that writedowns are not a substitute for profitability. proves that massive writedowns, while they initially shock the market, can later be used to purge the abscess and start afresh on a better footing.That's all Warner Bros shareholders can hope for from now on.