HBO Max activations double in the fourth quarter to 17.2 million, driven by ‘1984 Wonder Woman’ – Deadline

AT&T reported that the number of activated subscriptions to the streaming service HBO Max doubled in the fourth quarter to 17.2 million compared to the third quarter, partly due to the launch of Wonder Woman 1984.

The total number of domestic subscriptions to both regular HBO and HBO Max reached 41.5 million, which the company said was two years ahead of its initial forecasts and above 34.6 million in the quarter of 2019. Before HBO’s debut Max in May 2020, AT&T said its five-year goal was to get 50 million subscribers in the United States and between 75 million and 90 million globally.

Although HBO Max costs $ 15 a month for direct retail subscribers, existing HBO subscribers have the right to activate their subscriptions at no extra cost. AT&T struggled at first to drive these conversions, especially with rivals launching much cheaper streaming alternatives. The company recently decided to substantially increase bets on the streaming service (to the dismay of many in Hollywood), placing the entire list of Warner Bros. 2021 releases on HBO Max at the same time it hits theaters. WW1984 followed this pattern of release on Christmas Day. No data on their performance was shared in the earnings release.

HBO Max, which competes with other emerging services like Disney +, Apple TV + and Peacock, benefited in the fourth quarter from a distribution agreement with Roku, closed in December. A similar game-changing distribution agreement was struck with Amazon in November, finally opening up access to the two streaming providers in the United States.

News streaming highlighted quarterly results that exceeded Wall Street’s forecasts, although they declined from last year’s levels as the telecommunications and media giant continued to grapple with the effects of Covid-19.

Earnings per share stood at 75 cents in the quarter ended December 31, compared to 89 cents in the same period in 2019, with revenue of $ 45.7 billion falling from $ 46.8 billion. Analysts had expected a profit of 73 cents and revenue of $ 44.6 billion.

The Mobility division drove quarterly performance, with equipment revenue in that unit growing 28%, to $ 6.1 billion. AT&T said the gains were due to smartphone sales, a mix of higher priced postpaid smartphones and higher sales of postpaid data devices. The launch of 5G services, as well as new Apple iPhones, helped boost quarterly results.

WarnerMedia’s revenue fell nearly 10% over the previous year, to $ 8.6 billion. AT&T estimated that its TV and film revenue took a hit of $ 1.6 billion in the quarter. Warner Bros. revenue alone fell 21%.

Pay TV subscriptions continued to decline, with 617,000 video customers lost in the quarter, although broadband growth has outweighed the declines, as it has done in recent years. AT&T TV Now, the TV package distributed over the Internet launched in 2016 as DirecTV Now, has ended and AT&T is in negotiations to sell the share control of DirecTV, which it acquired in 2015.

Video revenue fell 11% to $ 7.2 billion, which the company attributed to the drop in premium and
OTT subscribers, partially offset by premium TV revenue per customer and a flurry of election ads. In addition to the challenge of operating during Covid-19, the company said the quarterly revenue number included estimated billing credits for 2020 to be provided to subscribers for less delivery of regional sports network programming.