Discovery Reaches 24 Million DTC Subscribers in Q1 2022, Giving New Warner Bros. Discovery 100 Million Streaming Subscriptions
Discovery announced that they ended Q1 2022 with 24 million direct-to-consumer subscribers, up 2 million subscribers from the end of 2021. That includes subscribers on discovery+, along with their previously launched international platforms including dPlay, which was rebranded to discovery+ late last year. Internationally, discovery+ carried the 2022 Beijing Olympics on the platform.
After discovery+ launched in January 2021, Discovery reported 12 million subscribers in February, 13 million in March, and 15 million in April. By the end of June 2021, the streaming service surpassed 17 million subscribers, 20 million in Q3, and 22 million in Q4.
This was the final quarter of the standalone Discovery business, prior to its merger with WarnerMedia. Last week, it was announced that HBO and HBO Max now have 48.6 million domestic subscribers and 76.8 million globally.
In total, the company has surpassed 100 million streaming subscriptions between the combined services.
David Zaslav, President and Chief Executive Officer of Warner Bros. Discovery said,
With Warner Bros. Discovery, we are creating a pure-play media company with diversified revenues and the most compelling IP ownership, franchises, and brand portfolio in our industry. Importantly, we also have an unrivaled global footprint of touchpoints to get our content into the hands of consumers on every screen. We are putting together the strategic framework and organization to drive our balanced approach to growing our businesses and maximizing the value of our storytelling, news and sports.
On April 8, the two sides closed their deal of what was the biggest media merger in years.
Since the deal closed, the company has made quick changes, replacing former WarnerMedia President Jason Kilar, with JB Perrette, who was President and CEO of Discovery Streaming. They also announced the shut down of CNN+ less than a month after it launched.
discovery+
discovery+ is a video streaming service that offers more than 70,000 episodes of 2,500+ current and classic shows from several popular TV brands including Discovery, Investigation Discovery, HGTV, TLC, Food Network, A&E, Lifetime, and History.