The CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery is said to have reversed plans to combine HBO Max and Discovery+ into one streaming service. Last year, AT&T’s WarnerMedia and Discovery Inc. completed the merger and announced plans to combine the streaming services of their respective companies. Launched in mid-2020, HBO Max aims to compete with major platforms such as Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and Hulu. Launching in the spring of 2020, Discovery+ offers a variety of reality shows. Warner Bros.’s new hybrid streaming service. Discovery Channel, slated to premiere this spring, was recently named “Max”.
Now, according to a new report Wall Street magazineAfter that, Warner Bros. Discovery has revised its previous plans. While Warner Bros. Discovery will still launch a new streaming service this year, Discovery+ will still be available to subscribers. This decision was made to avoid losing Discovery+’s 20 million subscribers, many of whom may not be willing to pay the increased subscription fees that come with Max (which can exceed the $15.99 per subscription fee). current month of HBO Max). While Discovery+ will remain active, the company’s new hybrid streaming service will contain content from HBO Max and most Discovery+ content.
It wasn’t clear at first how the WarnerMedia and Discovery merger would affect consumers, but it’s clear that under CEO David Zaslav, big changes are coming. The first major change that caught my attention was the company’s decision to cancel bat girlThe upcoming film from directors Bilal Farah and Adil El Albi stars Leslie Grace as the popular DC superhero. The $90 million movie was completed, starring Brendan Fraser as the villain, but was shelved entirely due to part of a tax-reduction strategy.
The following bat girlWith the cancellation of HBO Max, many shows have been announced to be canceled and/or removed from HBO Max over the next few months, including western world, never told, minx, time travel wife, legendary, Magic Search Mike, and many others. The removal of dozens of shows and movies from HBO Max is part of a larger move by the company to reduce costs, and the decisions are part of a broader “post-merger restructuring effort.” by Warner Bros. Discovery.
Many of these programs have been removed, such as western world, which has since found a new home on free, ad-supported (FAST) streaming services like Roku and Tubi. The licensing of these shows to FAST channels and services is part of a broader shift in the streaming services industry, an approach that is becoming increasingly popular as a way to reduce operating costs. . The new, updated streaming service, which combines HBO Max’s library with more Discovery+ content, is expected to launch this spring.
Source: The Wall Street Journal