The name of the platform has not yet been revealed.
The presentation of the first quarterly results of the Warner Bros. Discovery to the market this Thursday (4/8) confirmed the plans to unify HBO Max and Discovery + streaming serviceswhich reflects how the new company was formed earlier this year, from the merger of the former WarnerMedia and Discovery.
The new unified service will be up and running in a year, between June and August 2023 (US summer season), said JB Perrette, CEO and President of Global and Interactive Streaming at Warner Bros. Discovery, speaking on the company’s conference call.
The company hasn’t announced the new platform name that will join HBO Max and Discovery +, but said the new service will launch in two versions: ad-free and ad-free, which will have different pricing – not yet announced.
In the projection presented for the new service, WBD said it expects to have 130 million global subscribers by 2025, which will generate $ 1 billion in profit for the company. Perrette said the company also expects losses from investing in the streaming division to peak in 2022, but that the trend will reverse in three years.
Already reflecting the trend towards unification, the conglomerate chose not to disclose the individual subscriber numbers acquired by its platforms in the first quarter under the new management. Instead, it announced a combined sum of the two, which would have 92.1 million subscribers between them.
The number is enigmatic. Last quarter, AT&T, the former owner of WarnerMedia, revealed that HBO Max had 76.8 million subscribers. The original owners of Discovery + announced 24 million customers in the same period. Therefore, the quarterly progression indicates that there was an 8.7 million decline between the two services.
WBD, however, points out that, by its own decision, it has decided not to consider the 10 million subscribers who have gained access to Discovery + in a promotional partnership with AT&T. That is, who has won the subscription as a bonus in purchasing internet packages with the telephone company.
Considering that 10 million, the company would have added more than 1 million subscribers in the second quarter.
However, both platforms lost 300,000 subscribers in the US, going from 53.3 million in the first quarter to 53.0 million in the new survey.
It’s also worth noting that Discovery +’s individual numbers, released earlier this year, were surpassed by Starzplay’s this quarter, making the WBD platform the least sought after by subscribers of the largest services considered. This, despite being one of the cheapest subscriptions available.
In addition to adding numbers, WBD has initiated combinations of content that are already starting to bring the two services closer together. One of these was the announcement that HBO Max will start hosting some Discovery + shows. Initially it was confirmed the inclusion of the productions of Magnolia Network – realities such as “Do Velho ao Novo” (Fixer Upper) and “The Lost Kitchen”, among others – in the catalog of the most successful platform of the company.
At the same time, Discovery + will add productions from the canceled CNN + streaming service, adding a variety of network news programs and original productions to its programming, including a variety of true crime documentaries.
In financial terms, WBD is said to have achieved pro forma revenue of more than $ 9.82 billion during the period, down 1% from the same period a year ago. But it recorded a net loss of more than $ 3.41 billion, due to more than $ 2 billion in depreciation of various assets, more than $ 1 billion in restructuring and other charges, and $ 983 million in merger-related expenses.
The most profitable segment was that of film and television studios, which recorded more than $ 2.79 billion in box office and production revenues, an increase of 3%. This performance was followed by the company’s TV networks, which saw revenues rise 1% to $ 5.74 billion, driven by a 2% increase in advertising, thanks primarily to sports shows.
Source: Terra
Emily Jhon is a product and service reviewer at Gossipify, known for her honest evaluations and thorough analysis. With a background in marketing and consumer research, she offers valuable insights to readers. She has been writing for Gossipify for several years and has a degree in Marketing and Consumer Research from the University of Oxford.
