Warner Bros Discovery experienced continued streaming growth in the second quarter, adding 3.4 million subscribers. Importantly, 3.2 million of these new subscribers were from international markets, following the “very successful” launch of HBO Max in Australia at the end of Q1. This included “healthy retail traction” alongside a wholesale partnership with Foxtel.
The company stated that the early success in Australia strengthens its confidence in upcoming launches in Germany, Italy, and the UK & Ireland, where HBO content is currently licensed to Sky. Management forecasts that Warner Bros Discovery will achieve 150 million streaming subscribers by the end of 2026.
Concurrently, a restructuring of a US distribution deal for HBO Max had a minor effect on domestic ARPU and distribution revenues. Global streaming ARPU decreased 11% to $7.14, mainly due to expansion in lower ARPU international markets and an 8% decrease in domestic streaming ARPU to $11.16. This domestic ARPU decrease resulted from the wider wholesale distribution of HBO Max Basic with Ads. Overall, distribution revenues remained relatively stable, as growth in global streaming subscribers balanced out persistent domestic linear pay-TV subscriber losses.