This coming summer of 2023, the HBO Max service will be replaced by a combined streaming service with Discovery+, according to Warner Bros. Discovery
"At the end of the day, putting all the content together was the only way we saw to make this a viable business," JB Perrette, CEO and president of global streaming and games for Warner Bros. Discovery, informed analysts.
HBO could potentially be part of the direct-to-consumer Warner Bros. Discovery platform. In spite of the fact that HBO Max is doing away with its brand name, HBO's name will still play a prominent role as a platform.
According to Perrette, HBO Max provides a vast array of features that are easily accessible to consumers, but tends to experience difficulties when it comes to elements such as overall performance or customer interaction. Discovery+, on the other hand, contains less of a broad range of features, but offers more versatility when it comes to specific products and capabilities.
Presently, HBO Max and Discovery+ have around 92 million subscribers in total, as stated in a quarterly earnings report. By the year 2025, Warner Bros. Discovery intends to reach an average of 130 million subscribers on a worldwide level. According to Zaslav, on an earnings call, the new service might be offering a free version of it that comes with advertisements. Currently, HBO Max has a service with advertisements that costs $10 per month.
"Owning the content that really resonates with people is much more important than just having lots of content," Zaslav commented while on a call with analysts. "In other words, at a time when almost every piece of content ever made is available to consumers across any number of free and paid services, curation, quality and brand have never been more important."
While it may not be easy to unify the services of HBO Max and Discovery+, since each of their content differs drastically from one another, this move could be a step in the right direction when it comes to streaming wars against giants like Netflix
- https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/4/23292742/hbo-max-discovery-plus-combo-streaming-app
- https://variety.com/2022/digital/news/hbo-max-discovery-plus-merger-2023-1235333314/
- https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/hbo-max-discovery-will-combine-single-streaming-service-rcna41551
- https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2022-08-04/warner-bros-discovery-hbo-max