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Warner Bros. Discovery said Thursday that 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 has 110.5 million subscribers as of September 30. Warner Bros. Discovery's flagship streaming service has grown its subscriber base rapidly this year since expanding internationally in the first half.
The streaming sector has become a bright spot for Warner Bros. Discovery, as traditional TV networks are under pressure from cord-cutting and a weak advertising market. Last quarter, Warner Bros. reported Discovery took a $9.1 billion writedown on its TV networks.
On Thursday, Warner Bros. reported. Discovery's third-quarter results showed revenue fell 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.
TV network revenues rose 3% to $5.01 billion compared to last year, despite declines in both distribution and advertising revenues for the segment. Studios segment revenues fell 17% to $2.68 billion, while theatrical revenues fell 40%, excluding the impact of foreign currency, due to the lower box office performance of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” and “Twisters” compared to last year's “Barbie” .
However, the streaming company's revenue 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 turned its attention to streaming profits in favor of subscriber growth, media companies nonetheless reported new customer additions this quarter.
In October, streaming giant Netflix reported 5.1 million additional subscribers during the quarter, driven by the ad-supported plan and exceeding Wall Street expectations. In total, Netflix now has 282.7 million memberships.
However, starting in 2025, Netflix will no longer inform investors about the number of subscribers as the focus shifts to revenue and other financial measures as performance indicators.
Comcast's streaming platform Peacock added 3 million subscribers during the third quarter – boosted by the Summer Olympics in Paris – bringing the total to 36 million as of September 30.
In August, Disney reported that the number of Disney+ Core subscribers – excluding Disney+ Hotstar in India and other countries in the region – increased 1% to 118.3 million, despite the company's previous expectations that it would not add new customers during the fiscal third quarter add.
Disney's Hulu saw a 2% increase in subscribers to 51.1 million. Disney reports its next quarterly results on November 14.
Paramount Globals The streaming division posted an unexpected profit last quarter. Still, streaming platform Paramount+ dropped 2.8 million subscribers to 68 million after terminating a Korean partnership deal. Paramount reports quarterly results on Friday.
Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC. Comcast is part 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.