Nine reveals how many people pay for Stan
Stan has 2.2 million paying customers, a figure revealed by Nine Entertainment for the first time as the media group flagged free trials of the streaming service were coming to an end.
Despite an increase in price, high inflation and interest rate rises, Stan held the total number of users at 2.6 million, Nine chief executive Mike Sneesby said on Thursday.
“Subdued” market: Nine Entertainment chief executive Mike Sneesby.
Nine is Australia’s largest listed media company and owns The Australian Financial Review, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Stan, the Nine Network, a number of radio stations, and a 60 per cent stake in real estate marketplace Domain. It cut its full-year dividend by 21 per cent after double-digit falls in earnings and profits.
A more difficult advertising market and an increase in costs meant Nine reported revenue of $2.69 billion, up $5.7 million on last year. Its group earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation were $591.2 million, down 16 per cent. Net profit after tax was $262.1 million, down 25 per cent.
The final dividend of 5¢ will be paid on October 19, taking its full-year dividend to 11¢ – down from 14¢ last year. Analysts said the results were in line with expectations.
Stan has been reporting between 2.2 million and 2.6 million total subscribers since June 2020, but has proven resilient, growing revenue by 12 per cent to $427.6 million and EBITDA by 30 per cent to $37.1 million. That was due to price rises across its entertainment and Stan Sports subscriptions.
Mr Sneesby said free trials no longer made sense. “We’ve seen other platforms remove their free trials. Ultimately, what will happen is as free trials get removed, paying subscribers obviously become that
Read more on afr.com
