An indication exterior of the Warner Brothers Discovery Techwood Turner Broadcasting campus is seen on June 26, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Kevin Dietsch | Getty Pictures
Warner Bros. Discovery mentioned Thursday it added 6.4 million international streaming subscribers within the fourth quarter for a complete of 116.9 million subscribers.
Fourth-quarter income for the streaming section, which is anchored by flagship service Max, totaled $2.65 billion, up 5% from $2.53 billion in the identical quarter final 12 months. Adjusted earnings earlier than curiosity, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the unit got here in at $409 million, in comparison with an adjusted EBITDA lack of $55 million within the fourth quarter of 2023.
In a shareholder letter, the corporate forecast adjusted EBITDA of $1.3 billion for its streaming enterprise for the 12 months — roughly double the $677 million adjusted EBITDA it reported for 2024 — and mentioned it has a “clear path” to hit 150 million international subscribers by the top of 2026. Max is about to launch on tv service Sky in the UK and Eire by the second quarter of 2026, and can debut in Germany and Italy within the first quarter of that 12 months.
“On this generational media disruption, solely the worldwide streamers will survive and prosper, and Max is simply that,” CEO David Zaslav mentioned on the corporate’s earnings name on Thursday.
The media and leisure firm introduced Wednesday that Max would hold its B/R Sports activities and CNN content material accessible at no extra price to subscribers in its commonplace and premium tiers. Initially WBD deliberate to cost an extra price for sports activities.
Nevertheless, it’ll pull each verticals from its primary, ad-supported tier starting March 30.
Here is how Warner Bros. Discovery carried out within the fourth quarter of 2024 in contrast with what Wall Road was anticipating, based mostly on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Loss per share: 20 cents vs. earnings per share of 1 cent anticipated
- Income: $10.03 billion vs. $10.19 billion anticipated
WBD’s total fourth-quarter income fell 2% to $10.03 billion from $10.28 billion throughout the identical quarter in 2023. Full-year 2024 income got here in at $39.32 billion, down 5% from $41.32 billion in 2023.
Warner Bros. Discovery reported a internet lack of $494 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, or a lack of 20 cents per share, in contrast with a internet lack of $400 million, or a lack of 16 cents per share, throughout the fourth quarter of 2023.
TV networks income got here in at $4.77 billion, in comparison with $5.04 billion within the year-earlier interval. The corporate beforehand wrote down $9.1 billion for its networks enterprise in its 2024 second-quarter earnings report. In its shareholder letter, Warner Bros. Discovery famous that it expects additional declines in cable subscribers and that the promoting marketplace for U.S. linear tv is shrinking quicker than anticipated.
For the studios enterprise, fourth-quarter income totaled $3.66 billion, a rise of 15% from $3.17 billion within the fourth quarter of 2023.
“We’re laser-focused on getting our studios again to a spot of trade management,” Zaslav mentioned.
This story is growing. Please test again for updates.
