It seems like he needs more than dragons to attract audiences to his streaming service. Well, HBO Max does, anyway.
During its third quarter 2022 earnings report (opens in a new tab), Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) revealed that streaming subscriptions were up across all three of its home entertainment platforms. For those unaware, this trio includes HBO Max, HBO and Discovery Plus, the triumvirate's global subscriber base totaling 94,9 million paying customers.
Contextually, this seems like good news for WBD. The entertainment giant, which was recently formed from a merger between the two companies, added 2,8 million subscribers across its three streams between July and September 2022, a small but seemingly significant increase that brings it closer to the all-time total of 100 million. By comparison, Netflix only added 2,41 million news subscribers during the same period.
However, while WBD can boast of the new subscribers it has gained in the last three months, these numbers don't paint the full picture.
For one thing, WBD declined to provide a full breakdown of each streaming platform's subscriber count. The latest official figures provided by Warner Bros. came in April 2022, Warner was an independent company at the time, which revealed that HBO Max had a subscriber base of 76,8 million (per Cord Cutters (opens in a new tab)). In February 2022, Discovery confirmed that Discovery Plus had amassed 22 million paying customers in Q2021 98,8 (by variety (opens in a new tab)). Add those two numbers together, or 2022 million, and it looks like WBD really lost subscribers between January and November of XNUMX.
So what gives? It's likely that with the merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery, paying customers for HBO Max and Discovery Plus simply added their accounts to WBD's overall subscriber total. Without a full breakdown of the fan base for each platform, we can only assume that this is the main reason for this slight actual slowdown.
Regardless of the murky nature of WBD's total subscriber base, the fact that the mega-corporation has yet to break 100 million subscribers is sure to come as a major disappointment.
This is especially true for HBO and HBO Max. House of the Dragon, the highly anticipated Game of Thrones prequel series that launched on August 21, was one of the biggest TV hits of the year. According to WBD's earnings report, House of the Dragon was the biggest series premiere in HBO history, with the R-rated high-fantasy drama drawing nearly 10 million viewers on opening night alone. The HBO Max show was also the biggest series launch on the streaming service in the US, Latin America and EMEA regions, with all episodes averaging 29 million viewers in the following weeks.
However, despite House of the Dragon's growing popularity, it failed to fuel WBD's subscriber momentum for HBO and HBO Max. The series could have some of the highest viewing figures of 2022, but WBD only converted 10% of that audience (2,8 million new users out of House of the Dragon's 29 million viewers) into paying customers. And these are new subscribers on HBO, HBO Max and Discovery Plus. Not entirely convincing, is it?
Even with a hugely popular show, WBD's streaming services still can't compete with its rivals when it comes to having a sizable fanbase. Despite the struggles it has faced throughout 2022, Netflix's 223 million subscriber base ensures that it remains king of the streaming landscape.
However, Disney Plus is catching Netflix, with the home of Marvel and Star Wars posting subscriber numbers of 152.1 million (according to Variety (opens in a new tab)) in August. Across all of its streaming platforms, including ESPN Plus and Hulu, Disney's total subscriber base is 221,1 million, further proof of how far WBD has to go to match its competitors.
Clearly, HBO Max and its cousins have a long way to go to catch up with Netflix and Disney Plus in the increasingly tense race for subscribers. Fan-favorite shows including Succession, House of the Dragon, and Euphoria will continue to help it grow. And, thanks to its top-tier catalog of HBO Max shows and movies, WBD should feel confident moving forward in the fight to reach as many viewers as possible. Those are just two reasons why we think HBO Max is the best streaming service of 2022.
But not everything is good news for HBO Max and company. HBO Max and Discovery Plus won't be around much longer in their current forms, and WBD plans to consolidate the streaming platforms into one giant service in the first or second quarter of 2023. A price increase is also expected, while the combined platform HBO Max-Discovery Plus may see duplicate ads at your ad-based subscription level.
"Dreams didn't make us kings, dragons did," Prince Daemon told Queen Rhaenyra in the House of the Dragon season 1 finale. That may be true in Westeros, but it's not in the real world, and Warner Bros. Discovery should be well aware of this as it tries to assert its dominance over the streaming industry.
For more WBD-based content, read the Big Five Questions House of the Dragon Season 2 Needs to Answer. Alternatively, find out how much an HBO Max subscription costs right now, find out everything you need to know about HBO's The Last of US TV adaptation, or find out how to watch DC movies in order.
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