All articles tagged with #subscribers
Game Pass has about 30 million subscribers, roughly 4 million fewer than in 2024, and well short of Microsoft’s target of about 77 million by July 2026 (with a leaked plan for 100 million by 2030). Past price hikes and removing day-one Call of Duty titles are tied to subscriber losses, and internal memos from Xbox CEO Asha Sharma flag ongoing growth concerns as Microsoft adjusts pricing and strategy.
Kotaku reports, citing The Wall Street Journal and leaked Microsoft documents, that Xbox Game Pass has dropped to about 30 million paying subscribers, down from 34 million in 2024 and far short of the internal target of 77 million; the decline followed a price increase to $30/month and the inclusion of Call of Duty titles in the library. Microsoft later cut prices and pulled new COD releases from day one to slow churn, but growth appears to have plateaued, signaling a ceiling for the service.
Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball says Game Pass shed millions of subscribers after last fall's roughly 50% price increase, with Microsoft reportedly removing the latest Call of Duty from the service and lowering prices as part of a course correction.
Xbox Game Pass reportedly shed millions of subscribers after a 2025 price increase from $20 to $30, with Microsoft later lowering Ultimate to $23/month; the move coincided with tension over Call of Duty on Game Pass and a renewed push on console exclusives and future hardware, including a planned next-gen project codenamed Helix.
Xbox Game Pass reportedly shed millions of subscribers after a 50% price increase in fall 2025; mid‑2025 estimates pegged the service around 35 million users with no official tally. In 2026, a price cut was introduced by new CEO Asha Sharma and Microsoft indicated future Call of Duty releases wouldn’t launch on the service, highlighting ongoing tension between pricing and perceived value even as new games continue to roll out.
Spotify’s shares fell about 12% after hours after the company missed analyst expectations on its subscriber outlook, signaling weaker-than-anticipated user growth; the stock traded around $434.20, down from a prior close around $495.82.
Spotify beat Q1 estimates with revenue of 4.5 billion euros and MAUs rising to 761 million (up 12%) and premium subscribers to 293 million, but issued a cautious Q2 outlook: 17 million net user adds to reach 778 million MAUs and 6 million more premium subs to 299 million, with operating income around 630 million euros vs. expectations near 680 million. The soft guidance, along with recent Premium price increases, spurred a sell-off in the stock.
NBCUniversal’s Peacock posted a $432 million first-quarter loss while growing paying subscribers to 46 million, aided by Winter Olympics and the NFL’s Super Bowl. Revenue for Peacock rose to about $2.0 billion as advertising and paid subscriptions increased, and Comcast executives framed Peacock as approaching profitability in the current quarter, with a broader earnings backdrop showing strength in NBCUniversal’s media and entertainment segments even as its connectivity business faced ongoing subscriber losses.
Netflix is expected to report Q1 2026 results with EPS of 76 cents and revenue of $12.18 billion; after walking away from its Warner Bros. Discovery deal, management is refocusing on profitability, ad growth, and pricing amid a more crowded streaming landscape. Advertising revenue, which reached about $1.5 billion in 2025 (~3% of revenue), is expected to double in 2026, and the company notes it has around 325 million global paid subscribers. The earnings call is scheduled for 4:45 p.m. ET.
Paramount Skydance’s plan to merge HBO Max with Paramount+ (including Discovery assets) would create a mega-streamer approaching 210 million subscribers worldwide, potentially rivaling Netflix and Disney+. The move hinges on solving overlap in audiences (about 7.6 million U.S. subscribers subscribe to both) and navigating leadership dynamics between HBO’s Casey Bloys and Paramount’s Cindy Holland, but if executed well it could give the combined platform a broader reach for IP like Mission Impossible, Top Gun, Yellowstone, and more.
HBO Max ended the year with 131.6 million subscribers and helped streaming revenue rise in Q4, while Warner Bros. Discovery posted a 6% drop in quarterly revenue to $9.46 billion and a 19% fall in adjusted EBITDA, amid NBA ad-headwinds and ongoing merger drama with Paramount and Netflix; streaming profitability improved, and the company pressed ahead with international expansion and a potential spin-off of Discovery Global.
Comcast’s NBCUniversal posted a mixed Q4 2025: revenue rose to $32.3B, but Peacock’s losses widened to about $552M due to the NBA rights deal; Peacock ended 2025 with 44M subscribers (up from 41M). Domestic TV revenue slipped, Epic Universe boosted parks revenue, and Versant was spun out to sharpen NBCU’s streaming/live-sports focus. With co-CEOs Roberts and Cavanagh, NBCU is betting on a “Legendary February” (Olympics, Super Bowl, NBA All-Star) to fuel growth in 2026, while wireless gains remain solid (1.5M net adds, 9M+ total lines) amid ongoing broadband losses.
NBCUniversal's Peacock posted a widened fourth‑quarter loss of $552 million while revenue rose to about $1.6 billion, and the service added paying subscribers to 44 million (up from 41 million in Q3 and 36 million a year ago); executives say Peacock is evolving into a sports‑heavy platform with a year‑round lineup, and they expect losses to improve in 2026.
Netflix says it has 325 million paid subscribers (up from 300 million) and has amended its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery’s assets to an all-cash $27.75 per share, a deal needing antitrust approval and facing competition from Paramount’s bid. WBD backs Netflix’s offer as the market weighs whether streaming subscribers are the right metric for competition. Netflix also posted Q4 earnings of $0.56 per share on $12.05 billion revenue and guided to $0.76 per share on about $12.16 billion for Q1 2026, while outlining priorities like expanding ads, live events, and new content formats as it closes the Warner deal.
Spotify will raise the U.S. Premium price to $12.99 from $11.99 starting February, with Estonia and Latvia also seeing increases; the last U.S. hike was July 2024. The move accompanies Spotify’s push into video and creator monetization, including a Netflix podcast partnership and expanded eligibility for its Spotify Partner Program, even as ad revenue remains weak. In its latest results, Spotify reported about 281 million paying subscribers and solid revenue growth, amid a leadership shift with Daniel Ek becoming executive chairman and Gustav Söderström and Alex Norström stepping in as co-CEOs.