(Reuters) – Warner Bros. Discovery reported on Thursday a quarterly profit above expectations, driven in particular by the record increase in the number of subscribers after the Olympic Games which helped to compensate for the absence of major box office hits. office of his film studio.

The group’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization more than doubled from the previous year to $289 million (€267.32 million).

The group’s Max streaming platform, which expanded to Europe a few weeks before the Paris Olympic Games to, among other things, broadcast the event, contributed to the group’s results and also benefited from the merger with Disney+ and Hulu. .

The platform thus recorded 7.2 million new direct subscribers in the third quarter, exceeding estimates of 6.28 million according to data compiled by Visible Alpha.

Max recorded its largest quarterly subscriber gain since the platform’s launch, Warner Bros. Discovery chief executive David Zaslav said, calling it a “significant moment” that capped two years of building the service and reversing million dollars in losses.

Warner Bros. Discovery, which also made progress in its cost control efforts, reported a 5.5% drop in expenses during the quarter, helping the group post a surprise profit of 5 cents per share, well above the expectations of analysts who were counting on a loss of 9 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Revenue at the group’s television networks division, which includes Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and Food Network, rose 3 percent to $5.01 billion, driven in part by sublicensing rights to Olympic sports to regional broadcast networks across Europe.

Revenue from Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio segment, however, fell 17%, bringing total revenue to $9.62 billion, below estimates of $9.80 billion.

Despite releases such as “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” in the July-September quarter, Warner Bros. studio Discovery struggled to repeat the success of last year’s top-grossing feature film “Barbie.” at the studio in 2023.

Faced with the decline of cable television, a long-time profit engine, Warner Bros. Discovery is hoping for industry consolidation in the wake of Donald Trump’s victory as US president, thanks in part to a more transaction-friendly environment.

“It would have a positive and accelerated impact on this industry that needs it,” David Zaslav said during an earnings conference call with investors.

At the opening of the Wall Street Stock Exchange, Warner Bros. Discovery shares jumped nearly 9%.

(Written by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bangalore and Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles; Etienne Breban; edited by Blandine Hénault)

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