Following a merger of the two parents companies, HBO Max and Discovery+ will themselves merge into one unified streaming platform next year. This is a much needed development in the crowded and over-saturated streaming landscape.
The merger of Warner Bros. and Discovery has already caused chaos elsewhere in Hollywood. One of the biggest stories in the industry this past week was the decision of the newly combined Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav to cancel the upcoming DC superhero film Batgirl. Although the movie was filmed and in the editing and test screening phase, releasing it would have cost tens of millions of dollars in additional marketing costs. Zaslav’s new leadership is focused on fiscal responsibility and cost cutting, and this led him to cancel several projects on Warner’s upcoming slate.
The latest news, however, is more positive. As reported by Variety, Warner Bros. Discovery’s CEO and president of global streaming and games, J.B. Perrette, has announced that streaming platforms HBO Max and Discovery+ will combine into one single service. The new streaming platform, whose name has not yet been announced, will launch in summer 2023 in the United States, fall 2023 in Latin America, early 2024 in Europe, mid 2024 in Asia Pacific, and fall 2024 in other markets.
It is not yet known what the new service will cost, but Perrette has confirmed that there will be a premium subscription option and a cheaper ad-based plan, with a possible free ad-supported subscription plan being considered for the future. Currently, HBO Max costs $14.99 a month without ads and $9.99 with, while Discovery+ costs $6.99 without ads and $4.99 with. The new streaming platform will certainly cost at least $14.99 per month, to match HBO Max’s current price—and perhaps more.
By combining the two platforms, Perrette hopes to avoid churn (the loss of subscribers) with a wide and unique variety of available content. HBO Max is best known for its mature television content, including Euphoria and Game of Thrones, as well as offering recent Warner Bros. films such as The Matrix Resurrections and The Batman. Discovery+, on the other hand, is known for its documentary and reality content, distributing television channels like Discovery, Animal Planet, Food Network, History, and more.
Warner Bros. Discovery executives expect that the two platforms will complement each other, describing in a released graphic how HBO Max has a “male skew” and Discovery+ a “female skew.” Though this is a questionably reductive assessment, the new streaming platform will undoubtedly be a powerhouse. While Netflix has been experiencing an accelerating loss of subscribers, HBO Max, HBO, and Discovery+ all experienced a combined subscriber increase of 22% over the past year. With the new merger, that will likely increase even further.
The combined HBO Max and Discovery+ platform will launch in the summer of 2023 in the United States.
Source: Variety