Discovery announced that its direct-to-consumer subscription video services reached 17 million customers at the end of June and has since grown to 18 million, supported by its coverage of the Summer Olympics. That compares to 15 million subscribers reported in April. The growth helped the company grow second-quarter revenues 21 percent year-on-year to USD 3.06 billion.
The broadcaster's OIBDA for the period was down 1 percent to USD 1.12 billion, as a flat performance in the US offset growth abroad. Net profit improved to USD 672 million from USD 271 million a year ago, while free cash flow was down 14 percent to USD 757 million.
In addition to the expansion of Discovery+, the company said it benefited from a recovering global advertising market. Advertising revenue increased in every region and accelerated throughout the quarter, particularly in its International segment, where ad revenue grew by 70 percent excluding currency effects year-on-year in Q2. Markets such as the UK, Italy, Germany, as well as a number of Latam and APAC markets performed well, Discovery said.
