• by Wayne Friedman , November 3, 2021

Discovery Inc.’s U.S. advertising and distribution business rose 5% and 21%, respectively, propelled by its new direct-to-consumer businesses,  largely driven by discovery+ -- gaining 3 million subscribers in the third quarter versus the previous quarter.

Sharply higher company-wide distribution revenues were driven by the growing D2C business. Discovery D2C platforms are now at 20 million subscribers.

At the same time, total subscribers to its linear networks were 8% lower, or 4% lower excluding the impact from the sale of the Great American Country linear TV network.

While overall revenue was up 23% in the period to $3.2 billion -- due primarily to the Tokyo Olympics on its pan-European TV sports network, Eurosport -- net income to Discovery sank 48% to $156 million.

International revenue grew 44% to $1.3 billion. Advertising revenue for its international platforms grew 28% in the period to $467 million, while distribution revenue was 7% more to $538 million.

Discovery announced a deal to merge with WarnerMedia in May, valued at $43 billion. The combined company will be called Warner Bros. Discovery, pending completion.

Among other areas, analysts are eyeing how Discovery will combine and operate both discovery+ and WarnerMedia’s streaming platform HBO Max. Executives say HBO Max hopes to increase overseas growth for Discovery's longtime international operations.