To conclude 2022, with a total of 96.1 million customers globally, HBO, HBO Max, and Discovery+ added 1.1 million subscribers in Q4. This is an increase from the 95 million total global streaming users. The highly anticipated “Game of Thrones” prequel “House of the Dragon” made its premiere on Warner Bros. Discovery from July 1 to September 30. The second season of HBO’s popular Mike White drama “White Lotus” debuted during the quarter that ran from October 1 to December 31, while “House of the Dragon” wrapped up its first season.
The name, debut date, and price information for the planned combined HBO Max-Discovery+ streamer will be made public on April 12 during a press day.
On Thursday, Warner Bros. Discovery revealed its fourth-quarter profit figures and Q4 subscriber update. When foreign currency rates are excluded, direct-to-consumer revenue was calculated on a pro-forma combined basis to account for the quarter before WarnerMedia and Discovery’s planned merger in April 2022, and it came to $2.45 billion, up 6% over the prior year.
Discovery+ will be a stand alone streaming service
On a pro-forma combined basis, direct-to-consumer suffered a loss of $217 million, albeit a loss reduction over the prior year of $511 million.
“With the major restructuring decisions behind us, this year we are focused on building and growing our businesses for the future, and we’re off to a great start,” president and CEO David Zaslav commented, accompanying the financials.
“We’re seeing strong momentum across the enterprise, including our exciting long-term plans for DC Studios, the historic success of our latest HBO series ‘The Last of Us,’ the significant financial and operating gains in DTC, and the record sales of our newest game ‘Hogwarts Legacy.’ And with our unparalleled portfolio of assets and IP, a growing roster of exceptional creative talent, and some of the buzziest storytelling in the industry, we believe we have repositioned our businesses to take full advantage of the many opportunities ahead.”
The decision by Warner Bros. Discovery to maintain Discovery+ as a stand-alone streaming service and move through with the launch of the as-yet-unnamed combined product of Discovery+ and HBO Max was announced on February 8.
Warner Bros has organizes a press day on April 12
According to a source with knowledge of the issue, WBD’s strategy for the new platform containing HBO Max and Discovery+ has remained the same. In addition, the business has chosen to maintain Discovery+’s more affordable U.S. offering.
Despite Zaslav’s announcement on Thursday during the Q4 results conference, the united product has yet to debut publicly. To provide more information, Warner Bros. Discovery has organised a press day on April 12. According to Warner Bros. Discovery, HBO Max members will pay extra for the future unified streamer. For instance, the ad-supported version of HBO Max is $9.99 a month, while the ad-free option is $15.99. The monthly fee for Discovery+ without commercials is $6.99, while the version with ads is $4.99.