NEW YORK, N.Y.—Discovery has reported that its direct-to-consumer (DTC) efforts hit the 20 million sub milestone at the end of Q3 2021 and that its “next generation revenues” from subscription and advertising revenues generated from DTC products, as well as revenues from TV Everywhere, GO applications and other digital properties hit $425 million in the quarter.
During the earnings call David Zaslav, president and CEO of Discovery stressed that there were opportunities to further grow their streaming operations after the merger with WarnerMedia is completed.
“We are very excited about our pending merger with WarnerMedia and the opportunity to bring these two companies together, combining iconic and globally cherished franchises and brands, and positioning us to more efficiently drive global scale across the combined portfolio,” he said.
Zaslav also noted that there was relatively little overlap in the U.S. subs of Discovery+ and HBO Max. “At least here in the U.S., we believe less than half of Discovery+ subscribers are also HBO Max subscribers, which with the right packaging, provides a real opportunity to broaden the base of our combined offering,” Zaslav said, adding that there was also a “meaningful upside” in international markets.
Overall total revenues hit $3,150 million in Q3 2021, up 23% from a year earlier. But net income fell to $150 million, down 48% from a year earlier.
