Jakub Porzycki | Nurfoto | fake images
Warner Bros. Discovery said Thursday that its Max streaming platform added 7.2 million global subscribers in the third quarter.
It marked the highest quarterly growth for the streaming platform since its inception. Max now had 110.5 million subscribers as of September 30. Warner Bros. Discovery's flagship streaming service has been growing its subscriber base at a rapid pace this year since expanding internationally during the first half.
Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery rose more than 10% on Thursday.
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 weak advertising market. Last quarter, Warner Bros. Discovery reported a $9.1 billion writedown on its television networks.
On Thursday, Warner Bros. Discovery reported third-quarter results that showed revenue decreased 4% to $9.62 billion compared to the same period last year. Total adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization decreased 19% to $2.41 billion.
Warner Bros. Discovery posted a profit of $135 million, or 5 cents a share, compared with a loss of $417 million, or 17 cents a share, in the same period last year.
Television network revenue rose 3% to $5.01 billion compared to last year, despite declines in both distribution and advertising revenue for the segment. Studio segment revenue fell 17% to $2.68 billion, and theatrical revenue fell 40%, excluding the impact of foreign currency exchange, due to lower box office results for “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” and “Twisters” compared to “Barbie” last year. year.
However, revenue from the streaming business rose 8% to $2.63 billion, driven by an increase in global subscribers, higher advertising revenue and global average revenue per user. Adjusted EBITDA for the segment was $289 million, an increase of $178 million compared to last year.
Subscriber growth
While Wall Street has focused its attention on streaming profits in favor of subscriber growth, media companies have been reporting customer additions so far this quarter.
In October, the streaming giant netflix reported 5.1 million additional subscribers during the quarter, boosted by its ad-supported plan and beating Wall Street expectations. In total, Netflix now has 282.7 million memberships.
Starting in 2025, however, Netflix will no longer update investors on its subscriber numbers as it shifts its focus toward revenue and other financial metrics as performance indicators.
Comcast Streaming platform Peacock added 3 million subscribers during its third quarter, boosted by the Summer Olympics in Paris, bringing its total to 36 million as of September 30.
In August, disney reported that Disney+ Core subscribers, which excludes Disney+ Hotstar in India and other countries in the region, rose 1% to 118.3 million, despite the company's previous guidance that it would not add new customers during the third quarter fiscal.
Disney's Hulu saw subscribers rise 2% to 51.1 million. Disney will report its next quarterly results on November 14.
Paramount Global The streaming division posted an unexpected profit last quarter. Still, its Paramount+ streaming platform dropped 2.8 million subscribers to 68 million by undoing a partnership deal with Korea. Paramount is scheduled to report 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 holds the U.S. broadcast rights to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.
