Warner Bros. Discovery Increases Streaming Subscribers and Projects Future Growth

A sign outside of the Warner Bros. Discovery Techwood Turner Broadcasting campus is seen on June 26, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia.

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) announced on Thursday that it has successfully added 6.4 million new global streaming subscribers during the fourth quarter of 2024. This brings the total number of subscribers to 116.9 million, demonstrating significant growth for the company’s flagship streaming service, Max.

Revenue for the streaming segment rose to $2.65 billion in the fourth quarter, marking a 5% increase from $2.53 billion in the same quarter the previous year. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for this unit reached $409 million, a considerable improvement compared to the adjusted EBITDA loss of $55 million recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023.

In a letter to shareholders, WBD provided optimistic projections for its streaming business, forecasting an adjusted EBITDA of $1.3 billion for 2025 — nearly double the $677 million adjusted EBITDA reported for 2024. Additionally, the company laid out plans to achieve 150 million global subscribers by the end of 2026. Notably, Max is set to launch on Sky’s television service in the UK and Ireland by the second quarter of 2026, with a debut planned in Germany and Italy by the first quarter of the same year.

On a related note, WBD recently announced that it will continue offering B/R Sports and CNN content to subscribers in its standard and premium tiers at no extra cost. Initially, the company had considered charging additional fees for sports content. However, to maintain accessibility, both services will be removed from the basic, ad-supported tier starting March 30, 2025.

Overall, WBD reported a slight decline in total revenue for the fourth quarter, falling 2% to $10.03 billion, down from $10.28 billion during the same period in 2023. For the entire year of 2024, revenue was $39.32 billion, down 5% from $41.32 billion in 2023.

The company faced a net loss of $494 million in the fourth quarter, equating to a loss of 20 cents per share. This is compared to a net loss of $400 million, or a loss of 16 cents per share, in the previous year’s fourth quarter.

In terms of performance across different segments, revenue from TV networks decreased to $4.77 billion, down from $5.04 billion the previous year. In its prior earnings report, WBD recorded a $9.1 billion write-down for its networks division. The company expects to see continued declines in cable subscribers, with the U.S. linear television advertising market contracting faster than anticipated.

The studios segment, however, demonstrated positive growth, with fourth-quarter revenue climbing to $3.66 billion, an increase of 15% from $3.17 billion in the same period last year.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

streaming, subscribers, revenue