Warner Bros. Discovery reports Q2 results
Warner Bros. Discovery reported a total DTC subscriber base of 92.1M, inclusive of HBO Max and Discovery+. The company is planning to launch a combined HBO Max/Discovery Plus streaming service next summer and move forward using a more traditional distribution model that includes theatrical, PVOD, streaming, linear cable, free-to-air, gaming and consumer products and experiences. Executives also promised to find some $3B in cost savings, once again leaving uncertainty for many employees. WBD has already decided to cancel two movies that were in development for HBO Max, a Scooby Doo feature, and Batgirl, a $90 million DC Comics film that had already finished principal photography and was in postproduction.
The NPD Take:
- We’re already seeing the shift under new management where strategies that worked effectively during COVID lock downs have been reversed for a more traditional distribution strategy that focuses on windowing.
- We’re also seeing a re-focus on building strong brand equity with films not seen as worthy of the DC moniker being pulled before release.
Paramount+ on the rise
Paramount+ announced that it now has 43.3M paid customers, adding 3.7M in Q2. Total streaming subscribers globally reached 63.7M in Q2, a gain of 1.7M. The uptick for Paramount+ comes as growth for other streamers has been flat or down. Netflix shed nearly 1M subs in Q2, NBCUniversal’s Peacock was flat, and Peacock’s overall active accounts dropped by 1M. Pluto TV (Paramount’s free, ad-supported streaming service) had 69.6M monthly active users in Q2, a slight increase from Q1.
The NPD Take:
- As streaming services mature, we will continue to see strategies such as that employed by Paramount Global, hard bundles, DTC and third-party channel partners such as The Roku Channel.
- Global is a large part of the company's success in streaming, having built for international while focusing first on a domestic launch.
CNN Originals Hub debuts on Discovery+
Warner Bros. Discovery (which shut down the CNN+ streaming hub in April just weeks after it debuted), will launch a CNN Originals section on the subscription-video hub Discovery+. This creates a new venue for CNN series and documentary films, as well as original programs from sister cable network HLN, which focuses largely on true-crime content. The CNN programming will be made available starting August 19. Subscribers will have access to more than 800 episodes of programming. including Bourdain’s “Parts Unknown” and Stanley Tucci’s “Searching for Italy.” Select titles from the CNN Films library will stream exclusively on Discovery.
The NPD Take:
- WBD is going old school again, as News is being used to bolster more frequent engagement. This was done with Vice on HBO and historically has been a driver of cable engagement. Now it’s poised to drive viewership from the company’s streaming households.