
Continued ad sale declines at Bell Media have been partially offset by an increase in subscriber revenue, parent co BCE reported in its Q2 financials.
The company saw a 1.9% year-over-year decrease in revenue for the quarter, coming to $805 million compared to $821 million in Q2 2022.
The decrease was driven by reduced ad demand across traditional media platforms, with advertising revenue down 9% in Q2. However, it was offset by a 20% increase in total digital revenues, which was attributed to growth in its direct-to-consumer (DTC) businesses, such as Crave, RDS and TSN.
The company said Crave saw a 5% increase in subscribers year-over-year, coming to an estimated 3.2 million customers. It reported a 27% increase in overall DTC streaming subscribers.
The improved subscriber revenue reports come one week after Bell Media launched two ad-tier subscription plans for Crave, which were first announced in June.
Among the quarterly highlights for Bell Media was the performance of its Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix coverage across TSN, RDS, CTV and Noovo. The company reported an average audience of 1.34 million viewers. The RBC Canadian Open final also attracted a 41% increase in viewership, according to Bell, with a total of 2.35 million Canadian viewers.
Year-to-date operating revenue for Bell Media came to $1.59 billion, a 3.7% year-over-year decrease from $1.65 billion in the same period last fiscal.
Overall operating revenue at BCE hit $6.07 billion in Q2, a 3.5% increase from $5.9 billion in Q2 2022. Net earnings fell by more than 39% year-over-year, coming to $397 million in Q2, compared to $654 million in the previous Q2. The loss was attributed to more expenses and the increased interest, as well as other costs, including higher severance.
From Playback