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Discovery Warner Bros. said Thursday that its streaming platform Max added 7.2 million subscribers worldwide in the third quarter.
This is the strongest quarterly growth for the streaming platform since its creation. Max now had 110.5 million subscribers as of September 30. Warner Bros.’ flagship streaming service Discovery has seen rapid growth in its subscriber base this year since its international expansion in the first half of the year.
The streaming business has become a bright spot for Warner Bros. Discovery, as its traditional television networks have come under pressure from cord cutting and a flagging advertising market. Last quarter, Warner Bros. Discovery reported a $9.1 billion writedown on its television networks.
THURSDAY, Warner Bros. Discovery released its third quarter results which showed that revenue decreased 4% to $9.62 billion compared to the same period last year. Total adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization fell 19% to $2.41 billion.
Television network revenues increased 3% to $5.01 billion from last year, despite declines in the segment’s distribution and advertising revenues. Studios segment revenue fell 17% to $2.68 billion, with theatrical revenue falling 40%, excluding the impact of foreign exchange rates, due to the lower box office performance of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice ” and “Twisters” compared to those of “Barbie” last year. .
However, revenue from the streaming business increased 8% to $2.63 billion, driven by an increase in global subscribers, higher advertising revenue and global average revenue per user. Segment adjusted EBITDA was $289 million, an increase of $178 million from last year.
Subscriber Growth
While Wall Street has turned its attention from earnings releases to subscriber growth, media companies have nonetheless reported customer additions so far this quarter.
In October, the streaming giant Netflix reported Added 5.1 million subscribers in the quarter, propelled by its ad-supported plan and beating Wall Street expectations. In total, Netflix now has 282.7 million subscriptions.
However, starting in 2025, Netflix will no longer inform investors about subscriber numbers, as it will now focus on revenue and other financial metrics as performance indicators.
Comcast Peacock streaming platform added 3 million subscribers during its third quarter – boosted by the Paris Summer Olympics – bringing its total to 36 million as of September 30.
In August, Disney reported that the number of Disney+ Core subscribers – which excludes Disney+ Hotstar in India and other countries in the region – increased 1% to 118.3 million, despite the company’s earlier indications that it would not add new customers during the third fiscal quarter.
Disney’s Hulu saw its subscribers increase 2% to 51.1 million. Disney reports its next quarterly results on November 14.
Paramount Global streaming division balance to an unexpected profit in the last quarter. Yet its streaming platform Paramount+ fell by 2.8 million subscribers to 68 million as it unraveled a Korean partnership deal. Paramount reports its quarterly results on Friday.
Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC. Comcast is a co-owner of Hulu. NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder for all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.
