The news for HBO Max and Warner Bros. Discovery hasn’t been great lately. New CEO David Zaslav has decided to cut tons of content, he started by canceling The Wonder Twins movie, then cut out Batgirl, and other content when it was practically finished. To say that the moves have been boneheaded or shortsighted is an understatement. During their earnings call today, Zaslav and the company announced that they would merge HBO Max and Discovery+ into one streaming service by next summer.
Zaslav had this to say:
Our streaming strategy has evolved over the last year, and reflects the importance of, rather than the dependence on [streaming].
As of this moment, HBO Max has about 80 million subscribers worldwide, while Discovery+ has around 20 million. Adding them together makes for a good bargain for consumers, but at what cost? It’s part of an overall cost-cutting push for Warner Bros. Discovery after their recent merger and takeover by David Zaslav.
We’ll have to see what the future holds for both streamers and the content that resides on either platform. HBO Max is known for its original scripted content like Peacemaker and other DC shows. Discovery+ is known more for reality TV content.
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