WARNER Bros Discovery, the parent of the Max streaming service, gained more subscribers than expected in the third quarter, suggesting its online business is picking up. The shares posted their biggest intraday gain in more than two years.
The New York-based media company added 7.2 million net streaming subscribers in the three months ended Sep 30, the strongest quarterly gain since the platform’s launch, the company said on Thursday (Nov 7). Analysts expected 6.1 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Warner Bros shares jumped as much as 16 per cent in New York on Thursday to US$9.7, the most since April 2022.
As viewers shift from traditional TV to streaming services, Warner Bros’ goal is to get Max on as many devices and in front of as many consumers as possible. In September, it scored an early renewal of a distribution agreement with Charter Communications, the largest US cable TV service. The deal allows Charter subscribers to get the ad-supported version of Max and Discovery+ as part of their Spectrum TV select packages.
The Penguin, released during the quarter, was one of the biggest premieres on Max and garnered audiences similar to The Last of Us and House of the Dragon, the company said.
Chief executive officer David Zaslav told investors the company will see another quarter “of strong revenue, profit and subscriber growth” in the final three months of the year.
Warner Bros launched Max in parts of Europe in May, adding to existing offerings in Latin America. The company has plans to introduce Max in seven countries in South-east Asia later this month. Next year, Max will debut in Australia and more than a dozen other markets, “with more to come, including three of the biggest markets in Europe in 2026”, Zaslav said.
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After two price increases in the last two years in the US on streaming subscriptions, Zaslav said the company still has a “fair amount of room to continue to push price”. Warner Bros also plans to eventually crack down on password-sharing for Max.
Revenue at Warner Bros’ direct-to-consumer unit, which includes streaming services, rose 8 per cent to US$2.6 billion. At Warner Bros’ traditional networks segment, its biggest business unit that includes the CNN and TBS cable channels, sales rose 3 per cent to US$5 billion.
The gains in streaming were offset by lower revenue at Warner Bros’ studio unit, where movies such as Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and Twisters could not compete with the outsized success of Barbie last year. Revenue in the studio unit fell 17 per cent to US$2.7 billion in the third quarter.
Gaming revenue also declined, dropping 31 per cent excluding foreign exchange from a year earlier, showing that the business is still struggling. In the first quarter, Warner Bros released Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, which critics called one of the biggest gaming flops of the year.
Zaslav highlighted the TV studio unit, which he said is on track to have its “most profitable year in scripted content in the last five years”. The unit is currently making more than 80 live-action scripted, unscripted and animated series for nearly 20 platforms, Zaslav said.
For the media industry more broadly, Zaslav said that there’s a greater need for consolidation in order to improve the consumer experience. He said changes stemming from Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election could help with that.
“We have an upcoming new administration and it’s too early to tell, but it may offer a pace of change and an opportunity for consolidation that may be quite different, that would provide a real positive and accelerated impact on this industry that’s needed,” he said.
Overall sales at Warner Bros declined for the fourth consecutive quarter to US$9.6 billion, missing the US$9.8 billion average of analysts’ estimates. Warner Bros reported a profit of 5 US cents a share after a loss of 17 US cents a share a year earlier. BLOOMBERG
