Warner Bros Discovery Posts Profit As Olympics Boost Streaming

Warner Bros Discovery reported a surprise quarterly profit as cost controls and an Olympics-driven record jump in streaming subscribers helped offset a lack of major box office hits, Harshita Mary Varghese and Dawn Chmielewski reported for Reuters.

The company held exclusive streaming rights for the 2024 Olympics, boosting subscriptions. I Photo: WBD Sports

Shares of the company rose nearly 10% in premarket trading, though the stock has lost about a quarter of its value this year.

The company's Max streaming platform expanded into Europe just before the Olympic Games in Paris, where it held exclusive streaming rights for the event, boosting subscriptions.

Max also benefited from being bundled with Disney+ and Hulu, as well as the successful first season of The Penguin—a crime drama series released in September based on a popular DC Comics villain.

Warner Bros Discovery's streaming business, which includes Max and Discovery+ services, added 7.2 million direct-to-consumer subscribers in the third quarter, surpassing estimates of 6.28 million additions, according to data compiled by Visible Alpha.