Streaming services are giving it their all trying to pull audiences in, and today’s big winner is Warner Bros. Discovery, its streaming platform Max gaining a record 7.2 million global customers this quarter. A large number of these subscribers are likely a result of the company’s expansion to international markets.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s Q3 2024 report showed better-than-expected earnings showcasing a profit of $135 million or 5 cents per share, exceeding analyst expectations despite its losses in the same period last year. WBD’s shares were up almost 11% in intraday trading on Thursday. The company’s revenue from the direct-to-consumer segment, which was primarily pushed by streaming, increased 8% YoY.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max Platform Gains 7.2 Million New Subscribers
Max’s subscriber gains bring the total user base to 110.5 million, marking the biggest jump forward for the platform since its launch. The company expanded to new regions such as Europe and Latin America earlier this year and this expansion is believed to have fueled success for Warner Bros. Discovery and its Max subscriber gains.
In a press release announcing Warner Bros Discovery’s Q3 2024 results, CEO David Zaslav said, “Warner Bros. Discovery’s Q3 results demonstrate once again that while we continue to confront extraordinary disruption in our environment, the strategy we have undertaken to ready Warner Bros. Discovery for future success is showing important results.”
Addressing one of the key elements contributing to their success, he added, “Thanks to our rapid international expansion and continued investment in high quality, diverse content, we saw momentum accelerate in our global direct-to-consumer business in Q3.”
Max Outpaces Netflix in Terms of Quarterly Subscriber Growth
The Max subscriber growth report puts its quarterly growth above Netflix, but the latter streaming service still has the larger subscriber count overall. Earlier in October, Netflix released its own Q3 report which stated that it had added 5 million paid subscribers during that period. Overall, the company boasts 282.7 million paid subscribers, which allows it to continue as the industry leader.
Its subscriber growth appears to have slowed down in recent quarters and on the surface, it doesn’t appear likely that it will pick back up unless there are price changes or offers that can make it more attainable to consumers. Netflix’s earlier burst in subscriber count was linked to its attack on password sharing, which would have forced some of its users to get their own accounts.
Warner Bros. Discovery Q3 Report
Looking at Warner Bros. Discovery’s third-quarter 2024 results, the company’s total revenue was $9.6 billion. When adjusted for foreign exchange fluctuations, the revenue declined by 3% compared to the same period last year. The net income reported stood at $1 billion and adjusted EBITDA was $2.4 billion, which indicated a 19% decline.
Warner Bros. Discovery managed a profit of $135 million or 5 cents a share, which paints a very different picture compared to the loss of $417 million, or 17 cents a share, in the same period last year.
The company’s streaming revenue is up by 8% to $2.63 billion. This growth is said to be a result of a combination of factors including higher global ad revenues, average revenue per user, and finally subscriber growth. In terms of its Network segment, it saw a 3% increase in its revenue to $5.01 billion. The Studios unit saw a stark decline, falling 17% to $2.68 billion, with theatrical revenue falling 40%.
Looking forward, the company is looking at ad revenue as a potential pipeline on its Max streaming business which might benefit the company but turn away some of the new-founded subscribers. Finding the right balance is key.
