[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] While Netflix, the world's largest online video service (OTT), recorded a decrease in paid subscribers for the first time in 11 years, its competitor HBO has increased its subscribers.
Economic media CNBC reported on the 21st (local time) that Warner's OTT HBO Max and cable channel HBO recorded 76.8 million global subscribers in the first quarter.
This is an increase of 12.8 million compared to the same period last year and 3 million compared to the previous quarter. John Stankey, CEO of AT&T, evaluated that "HBO Max showed continuous growth potential as it was launched in more regions."
In the U.S. domestic market, the average revenue per user (ARPU) increased from $11.15 in the fourth quarter of last year to $11.24 in the first quarter.
This performance was reported by the former parent company AT&T. WarnerMedia, which operates HBO Max and HBO, separated from AT&T this month and merged with Discovery. The merged company is named Warner Bros. Discovery.
CNBC reported that this subscriber increase news came after Netflix experienced a 35% stock price plunge due to subscriber loss. HBO is a representative American broadcaster famous for dramas such as 'Band of Brothers,' 'Game of Thrones,' and 'Euphoria.' Sitcoms familiar to Koreans, such as 'Friends' and 'The Big Bang Theory,' are also available on HBO Max. The OTT platform HBO Max is expected to enter the Korean market soon.
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