With all the streaming services to choose from and the price hikes that each have implemented, people are torn between which services they should subscribe to or whether they should at all. This issue is catching up to Warner Bros. Discovery as it loses more subscribers.
You Win Some, You Lose Some
At the end of the second quarter of 2023, the company had around 95.8 million subscribers, but that has gone down to 95.1 million with the loss of approximately 700,000 subscribers. It's not a good outcome for Warner Bros, Discovery, especially after the recent merger.
From HBO Max, the company has rebranded the streaming service to just Max. It contains content from Discovery+, which was previously only accessible to the separate streaming app. According to Gizmodo, users are already leaving Discovery+ due to its content's availability on Max.
In simple terms, the company used to have two services that users subscribed to, and the merger resulted in fusing that into only one revenue stream. This resulted in the company having debt, along with a "12% decline in advertising at its portfolio of TV networks."
Warner Bros. Discovery is still trying to create new content and products for its subscribers, all while trying to manage the decline of assets like TNT and TBS cable networks. There are also several aspects of the company that saw increases.
Direct-to-consumer streaming revenue went up 5% due to price increases and new partnerships, and ad revenue saw a huge increase of 30% as advertisers saw the opportunity in broadband audiences.
The release of "Barbie" also softened the blow of the losses. The movie based on a childhood favorite of millions brought in more than $1 billion at the global box office, which makes it Warner Bros,' highest-grossing film ever.
Although the global earnings are far from the doll-centric fantasy movie, "The Nun II" was also a success as it garnered more than $250 million worldwide, which has effectively made "The Conjuring" franchise one of the most successful in the horror genre.
Warner Bros. Discovery Merger
The company decided to combine both HBO Max and Discovery+, eventually deciding on a more simple name, Max. It has already been released in the US and Latin America, and will soon be available globally by 2024.
According to CNBC, this is the company's way of competing with streaming giants like Disney and Netflix. This way, Max will be a streaming platform that will have a more diverse selection compared to its competitors.
Warner Bros. Discovery Head of Streaming JB Perrette says "Max is where consumers can finally say, 'Here's a service that not only has something for everybody in my household, but something great for everybody in my household."
As for why the word "HBO" was removed, it's because the service was known for adult entertainment, which is not what Max is aiming for, or not solely that anyway. The streaming service is meant to offer content appropriate for kids and families.
