Warner Bros. Discovery reports strong subscriber growth rate

According to its first quarter its earnings report, Warner Bros. Discovery grew its subscribers base to 97.6 million at the end of first quarter for 2023. The number for global D2C subscribers for its services including HBO, HBO Max and discovery+ increased by 1.6 million at the end of Q1, beating its 96.1 million subscribers at the end of Q4 in 2022, despite an overall revenue loss.

In Q1 total revenues dropped to  $10,700 million, as revenues decreased 5% ex-FX, or decreased 3% ex-FX excluding the impact of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, compared to the prior year quarter, on a combined basis. The company also reported a net loss available of $1,069 million. Networks revenues had also fallen to $5,581 million, with revenue decreased 10% ex-FX, or decreased 7% ex-FX.

Additionally, distribution revenue decreased 3% ex-FX, primarily driven by increases in U.S. contractual affiliate rates, which were more than offset by declines in U.S. pay-TV subscribers. While advertising revenue decreased 14% ex-FX, primarily, which according to the company was driven by audience declines in domestic general entertainment and news networks and soft advertising markets mainly in the U.S. and, to a lesser extent, certain international markets.

“It is an important time for Warner Bros. Discovery. We’ve come through some major restructurings and have repositioned our businesses with greater precision and focus. And we see a number of positive proof points emerging, with DTC perhaps the most prominent. We made a meaningful turn this quarter with $50 million in segment EBITDA and 1.6 million net adds, and we feel great about the trajectory we are on. In fact, we now expect our U.S. DTC business to be profitable for 2023 – a year ahead of our guidance. Even in today’s challenging marketplace, we are positioned to drive free cash flow and deleverage our balance sheet, and we remain confident in our strategy and ability to achieve our financial targets”, commented David Zaslav, President & CEO.