Streaming Profit Report: Netflix Leads, Disney Rises, Warner Grows. Is Consolidation Next?

It has taken a few years, but more legacy Hollywood studios’ streaming businesses have started turning annual profits, with the rest touting progress toward that goal. 

Netflix, crowned on Wall Street as the undisputed king of streaming, grew its subscribers, revenue and profit in 2024. Meanwhile, among studios — which have been refocused on streaming profits after their initial bullseye on subscriber gains — Warner Bros. Discovery last year managed to multiply a small 2023 profit for the business that includes, among others, its streaming operations, while Disney swung to its first-ever full calendar-year streaming profit. And Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Paramount Global narrowed the losses in the divisions with their core streaming businesses with an eye on profitability ahead.

Boosting the bottom lines were such factors as more selective spending on original programming, price increases and a push of cheaper subscription tiers that include advertising. “Netflix spends more on direct-to-consumer (DTC) content than any other company, yet because of its size, its spend per subscriber is in line with peers,” MoffettNathanson analysts Robert Fishman and Michael Nathanson highlighted in a Feb. 11 report. “It also generates less revenue per hour of engagement than any other SVOD platform, yet the magnitude of its engagement means its aggregate revenues are second to none.”

The question now is how sustainable and scaleable streaming profits can be for anyone not called Netflix. And Wall Street observers generally don’t expect them to ever rival the profitability of cable networks divisions at the height of their financial power before the rise of cord-cutting. But many expect this streaming environment to just be waiting for a shake-up, including with consolidation, partnerships and more bundling among major streaming platforms. So where did Netflix and the streaming arms of Hollywood giants stand as of the end of the calendar year 2024?

For an analysis, keep in mind that the divisions that contain Hollywood companies’ streaming businesses are not directly comparable. For example, Warner Bros. Discovery’s “Direct-to-Consumer,” or DTC, unit consists of its streaming and premium pay-TV services, meaning HBO is part of it. Meanwhile, the Disney’s “Direct-to-Consumer” division does not include ESPN+. And Comcast’s NBUniversal breaks out revenue and profit for its streamer Peacock, which is part of its broader Media unit. 

Meanwhile, Netflix has traditionally focused on the streaming video business but has also started pushing into other areas, such as gaming and merchandise. 

While apples-to-apples comparisons aren’t possible, a look at the streaming businesses is educative for identifying longer-term trends. Also, keep in mind that Disney’s fiscal year runs through the fall, while The Hollywood Reporter calculated DTC results for the calendar years 2024 and 2023 to focus on a comparable period. 

With all that said, here is a closer look at Netflix and Hollywood giants’ streaming businesses in 2024. 

Netflix

Profit: $10.4B +49% year-over-year
Revenue: $33.7B +16% year-over-year

Netflix’s 2024 revenue and operating income jumped, with the latter exceeding $10 billion for the first time in the company’s history. The streamer, whose hit series included Fool Me Once, Bridgerton and Squid Game season 2 and which also had such big films as Carry-On and Damsel, added around 9.5 million global subscribers to end the year with an industry-leading 301.6 million.

With Netflix having now ended regular subscriber data disclosures, the streamer is forecasting 12-14 percent revenue growth in 2025 to $43.5 billion-$44.5 billion. 

And it remains bullish on its continued longer-time upside. “We estimate there are now 750 million-plus broadband households (excluding China and Russia) and $650 billion-plus of entertainment revenue in the markets we operate in, of which we only captured around 6 percent in 2024,” the company said. “Similarly, we believe we account for less than 10 percent of TV viewing in every country in which we operate, all of which suggests a long runway for growth as streaming continues to expand around the world.”

Disney

Streaming profit: $574M swing to profit
Revenue: $23.3B +13% year-over-year

Subscriber gains – check! Revenue growth – check! Swing to profit – check! Disney’s entertainment streamers Disney+ and Hulu checked all the boxes in 2024. (ESPN+ is part of the company’s sports segment, which THR isn’t including in its analysis here.)

Among the original series drawing audiences and buzz were the likes of Shōgun, Agatha All Along and Only Murders in the Building.

“The only way you succeed in global streaming, both from a subscription perspective and a profitability perspective, is with a great combination of high-quality product with volume and technology,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said during a February earnings conference call. “And we feel if you look at all the competitors that are in that space, we’re very well positioned to both grow subs and grow profits over the long run.”

Warner Bros. Discovery

Streaming profit: $677M +557% year-over-year
Revenue: $10.3B +1% year-over-year

Warner Bros. Discovery ended 2024 with a healthy gain in global streaming subscribers, including both Max and Discovery+, to nearly 117 million. And in a shareholder newsletter, WBD outlined a path to at least 150 million subscribers by the end of 2026.

Helping the gains were not only such originals as The Penguin, House of the Dragon, Industry, and True Detective: Night Country but also launches in new international markets.

“Max continues to grow at a powerful pace, and we expect it to continue throughout 2025 and beyond,” WBD CEO David Zaslav told Wall Street. “In this generational media disruption, only the global streamers will survive and prosper, and Max is just that.” The conglomerate has also said it will always be striving for Max to be a top 3 streamer in all the markets where it is available.

Paramount Global

Streaming profit: -$497M 
Revenue: $7.6B +13% year-over-year

Landman, Lioness, Tulsa King, Tales of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Knuckles all helped boost subscriber numbers for Paramount+ in 2024 in the run-up to Paramount Global’s planned sale to Skydance Media this year, while its ad tiers and Pluto TV brought in advertising revenue.

Co-CEOs George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins recently touted a “transformative year,” including what they have called a shift to becoming a streaming-first company. “Direct-to-consumer (DTC) profitability improved $1.2 billion in 2024, driven by an impressive year at Paramount+,” they said, expressing “great confidence Paramount+ will achieve full-year domestic profitability for 2025.”

The co-CEOs also lauded Paramount+ for hitting its “highest level of engagement yet” in the fourth quarter of 2024 and “ranking as the number 2 domestic SVOD service for hours watched across all original series.”

NBCUniversal

Streaming profit: -$1.8B
Revenue: $4.9B +44% year-over-year

“We are making a successful pivot to streaming, as evidenced by Peacock’s strong revenue growth” and bottom line improvement,” Comcast CFO Jason Armstrong said on the conglomerate’s latest earnings conference call. Still, just like in 2023, NBCU posted the biggest streaming loss among Hollywood conglomerates given its still smallish user base, which means a smaller opportunity to monetize, via subscription or advertising revenue, the necessary big content and other investments. But Armstrong vowed more progress ahead. “We expect to make continued improvement in Peacock EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) losses in 2025.”

The Paris Olympics were a key subscription driver at Peacock last year, along the likes of the NFL, Love Island, Bel Air, and Fight Night.

And the company remains bullish. “We couldn’t be more excited for the year ahead as we welcome the NBA back to NBC and also on Peacock later this year,” starting in the fall, Armstrong said.