The latest round of quarterly media earnings marked a significant shift in the streaming wars as Netflix officially ditched its subscriber and average-revenue-per-user counts.
Netflix, which last reported a total of 302 million subscribers and ARPU of $17.26 in its fourth quarter of 2024, remains well ahead of its legacy media competitors on these metrics. It previously said it would provide subscriber updates when it crosses major milestones. Meanwhile, the race continues to tighten amongst Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Comcast/NBCUniversal and Paramount Global as they duke it out for the second place spot.
TheWrap’s analysis for the January-to-March quarter continued to stack Netflix’s last public disclosure to the fresh numbers for Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max, Peacock and Paramount+. And as many of those legacy players have either consistently started turning quarterly profits or continue to narrow their streaming losses, the roundup will also start drawing comparisons from that metric relative to each other and Netflix.
Apple TV+ and Prime Video do not disclose their quarterly subscribers, ARPU or profits/losses, though Amazon recently revealed at its upfront that the latter streaming service reaches more than 130 million ad-supported viewers in the U.S. alone. When combined with the tech giant’s other entertainment properties, the portfolio reaches a total ad-supported audience of 300 million. Last year, Amazon’s CEO Andy Jassy said he has “increasing conviction” Prime Video would become a “large and profitable business” on its own.
Subscribers
Trailing behind Netflix in second place for subscribers is Disney+ with 126 million, followed by Warner Bros. Discovery with 122.3 million, Paramount+ with 79 million, Hulu with 54.7 million, Peacock with 41 million and ESPN+ with 24.1 million.
Disney+ added 1.4 million subscribers during its latest quarter, while WBD added 5.3 million, Paramount+ added 1.5 million, Hulu added 1.1 million and Peacock added 5 million. ESPN+ was the sole streaming service to lose subscribers during its latest quarter, shedding a total of 800,000.
During upfronts week, it was revealed that Netflix has surpassed 94 million monthly active users on its ad tier, while Disney has an ad-supported audience of 164 million across Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+.
Paramount ad chief John Halley recently told TheWrap that the company reaches a total of 115 million ad-supported viewers per month across its streaming footprint, while Peacock has 100 million monthly active users, according to Comcast. Warner Bros. Discovery does not break out its ad-supported viewership for Max, but said the base in the U.S. has doubled in the past year, with roughly half of new subscribers choosing that option.
Average Revenue Per User
On the domestic ARPU front, Hulu came in second at $12.36, followed by Warner Bros. Discovery at $11.15, Peacock at around $10, Disney+ with $8.06 and ESPN+ with $6.58. Paramount+ does not break out its quarterly ARPU figure.
The 3% increase in ESPN+ ARPU was due to price increases and a shift in its subscriber mix, while the 1% decrease in Hulu SVOD-only ARPU and 1% increase in Disney+ ARPU were due to increases in pricing offset by lower ad revenue. WBD ARPU fell 5% primarily due to broader wholesale distribution of Max’s basic with ads plan.
When looking at its Live TV business, Hulu reported ARPU of $99.94.When looking outside the U.S., Disney+ international ARPU grew 5% to $7.52, driven by price increases and the impact of subscriber mix shifts, offset by the negative impact of foreign exchange rates.
Warner’s global ARPU fell to $7.11, due to the lower domestic ARPU and growth in international markets with lower ARPU. International ARPU came in at $3.63.
Profits/Losses
As for profitability, Netflix reigned supreme with net income of $2.89 billion, up from $2.33 billion a year ago.
Warner Bros. Discovery posted the second largest streaming profit of $339 million, up from $86 million a year ago, though it’s important to note that the company’s direct-to-consumer division results include Max, Discovery+ and traditional HBO cable subscriptions.
Disney+ and Hulu posted a combined profit of $336 million, up from a profit of $47 million a year ago. Disney does not break out ESPN+’s profitability.
Meanwhile, Paramount Global and Comcast/NBCUniversal continue to lag behind despite continued improvements in streaming profitability. Paramount+ narrowed its quarterly loss to $109 million, from $263 million a year ago, and Peacock narrowed its loss to $215 million, from $639 million in the prior year period.
Streaming Outlook
Looking ahead, Netflix anticipates net income of $3.06 billion and total revenue growth of 15.4% to $11.04 billion in its second quarter of 2025.
Longer-term, the company is eyeing a $1 trillion market capitalization by 2030, which it plans to reach by doubling its revenue to $78 billion and tripling its operating income to around $30 billion in that timeframe. It’s also eyeing about 410 million subscribers and roughly $9 billion in global ad sales by 2030, according to figures leaked to the Wall Street Journal. The company’s executives have said that the goals are a “long-term aspiration” rather than formal guidance.
Disney said it expects a modest increase in Disney+ subscribers in its third quarter of 2025 relative to its second quarter. It also plans to launch its ESPN streaming service this fall and will continue to market and sell ESPN+, in part due to contractual rights commitments with several leagues, both domestically and internationally. ESPN is also available as a tile in Disney+.
Warner Bros. Discovery is aiming to reach at least 150 million subscribers by the end of 2026 and deliver a streaming profit of approximately $1.3 billion in 2025. In addition to Max’s international expansion, the company said it would focus on strategic distribution partnerships and driving higher penetration in existing markets with its ad-supported tier to reach that subscriber goal. By the end of year, Max is on track to be available in over 85 markets globally. It will launch in the U.K. and Ireland, Italy and Germany in early 2026.
Paramount+ subscribers are expected to see a decline in the company’s second quarter due to seasonality and the termination of an international hard bundle partnership. However, the service remains on track to reach domestic profitability in 2025 and is expected to see revenue growth, driven by an acceleration in ARPU, as well as total affiliate and subscription revenue growth from the ongoing transition to streaming.
Comcast executives did not provide specific guidance for Peacock profitability or subscriber growth, but said its NBA rights deal starting in the second half of the year would be a key driver to help scale the streamer’s subscriber base and trim its losses over time. The company also remains open to considering streaming bundles and partnerships.
