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Warner Bros. Discovery said Thursday its streaming platform Max added 7.2 million global subscribers in the third quarter.
It marked the biggest quarterly growth for the streaming platform since its inception. Max now had 110.5 million subscribers as of Sept. 30. Warner Bros. Discovery’s flagship streaming service has been growing its subscriber base at a fast clip this year since expanding internationally during the first half.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s stock was up more than 10% on Thursday.
The streaming business has become a bright spot for Warner Bros. Discovery as its traditional TV networks have been pressured by cord cutting and a soft advertising market. Last quarter, Warner Bros. Discovery reported a $9.1 billion write-down on its TV networks.
On Thursday, Warner Bros. Discovery reported third-quarter results that showed revenue decreased 4% to $9.62 billion compared with the same period last year. Total adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were down 19% to $2.41 billion.
Warner Bros. Discovery swung to a profit of $135 million, or 5 cents a share, compared with a loss of $417 million, or 17 cents per share, in the same period last year.
TV networks revenue rose 3% to $5.01 billion compared with last year, despite declines in both distribution and advertising revenue for the segment. Studios segment revenue dropped 17% to $2.68 billion, with theatrical revenue falling 40%, excluding the impact of foreign currency exchange, due to the lower box-office performances of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” and “Twisters” compared with that of “Barbie” last year.
However, the streaming business’ revenue increased 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, a rise of $178 million compared with last year.
Subscriber growth
While Wall Street has turned its attention to streaming profits in favor of subscriber growth, media companies have nonetheless been reporting customer additions so far this quarter.
In October, streaming giant Netflix reported 5.1 million subscribers additions during the quarter, propelled by its ad-supported plan and beating Wall Street expectations. In total, Netflix now has 282.7 million memberships.
However, beginning in 2025, Netflix will no longer update investors on its subscriber numbers as it shifts focus toward revenue and other financial metrics as performance indicators.
Comcast’s streaming platform Peacock added 3 million subscribers during its third quarter — spurred by the Summer Olympics in Paris — bringing its total to 36 million as of Sept. 30.
In August, Disney reported that Disney+ Core subscribers — which excludes Disney+ Hotstar in India and other countries in the region — increased by 1% to 118.3 million, despite the company’s earlier guidance that it wouldn’t add new customers during the fiscal third quarter.
Disney’s Hulu saw subscribers increase 2% to 51.1 million. Disney reports its next quarterly earnings on Nov. 14.
Paramount Global’s streaming division swung to an unexpected profit last quarter. Still, its Paramount+ streaming platform dropped 2.8 million subscribers to 68 million as it unwound a Korean partnership deal. Paramount is scheduled to report quarterly earnings 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 to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.
