Lionsgate brought in 18 million global subscribers through its Starz streaming service as revenue for the quarter dropped to $887.8 million, down from the previous quarter’s $901.2 million.
Operating income hit $29.8 million for the second quarter of fiscal year 2022, while quarterly income for shareholders was $7.5 million.
“Starz drove growth of 1.3 million global streaming subscribers with the strong premieres of three new series in the quarter, our Television Group launched six new series and renewed six current shows, and our Motion Picture Group added to an already robust pipeline with the production starts of nine new films,” Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said in a statement.
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Reporting Q1 results for the fiscal year 2022, Lionsgate had a $45.4 million loss as its streaming platform Starz brought in 16.7 million subscribers — a slowdown of growth that Feltheimer attributed at the time to a decline in at-home viewership and lighter content due to COVID-related production delays.
In July, Lionsgate acquired a 20 percent stake in Spyglass Media Group and around 200 films from the Spyglass library, including Fruitvale Station, The King’s Speech, Paddington, Silver Linings Playbook, The Butler, Django Unchained, Inglourious Basterds and The Hateful Eight. The acquisition was completed in the quarter.
In a regulatory filing submitted to the SEC on Thursday alongside its quarterly earnings, Lionsgate revealed that its board made a decision on Nov. 2 to explore a potential spinoff or separation of its media networks business, which includes Starz, from its studio operations.
“Recent transaction multiples [in the entertainment sector] give us confidence that exploring alternate paths is prudent,” Lionsgate vice chairman Michael Burns said during the company’s earnings call.
Nov. 4, 1:35 pm PST: Updated headline to reflect Starz global streaming-only subscribers.
