Nine’s home grown streaming platform Stan has just posted its fourth year in a row of profit.
Current active subscribers hit 2.6 million, with 2.2 million of them paying.
Revenue grew 12% to $428 million, underpinned by price increases across both entertainment and sport subscriptions, delivering 9% growth in average revenue per user with minimal churn.
Costs were up 11% to $390.5 million, partially reflecting the continued ramp-up of investment in Stan Sport.
EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) grew 30% to $37 million.
ExSport, costs were up by about 8%, mainly reflecting the increased roll-out of Stan Originals, the impact of the new Sony output deal and other key licensed content.
Nine says Stan’s commitment to expanding Stan Originals, and investing further into Stan Sport, has helped to maximise the control over the content pipeline, and de-risk the business, particularly in the context of the ongoing Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strikes.
The company says this also positions Stan well to respond to any opportunities which arise as a result of the strategic shift by the Hollywood Studios to place greater reliance on profitability and content licensing models, rather than direct-to-consumer streaming investment.
“This shift in strategy is expected to lead to more content becoming available to license in Australia, and potentially to consolidation within the market," says Nine.
Stan’s Originals have delivered four of the top six series and movies available on Stan in the 2023 financial year.
New original series such as Black Snow, Ten Pound Poms and Bali 2002 attracted strong viewership, complementing returning series such as Bump and Ru Paul’s Drag Race Down Under, as well as Original movies including Transfusion, Poker Face and The Portable Door.
These titles performed strongly alongside key licensed titles including Yellowstone, Your Honor, From, Lucky Hank and The Great.
Stan Sport also continued to extend its consumer proposition, securing the rights to the Rugby World Cup and successfully broadcasting the Women's tournament, as well as the UCI World Championship cycling event in Wollongong.
These sports complement Stan’s already existing line-up, including the recently extended UEFA champions league and Grand Slam tennis, domestic and international rugby as well as an emerging motorsport and combat sports proposition.
2023 financial year numbers:
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