It’s been years in the making, but it looks like the Warner Bros. Discovery and HBO combined streaming service will soon be unveiled, according to a report from The New York Times. The news comes two years after David Zaslav announced his plan to form a mammoth streaming service that would compete with established streaming services such as Netflix. His plan involved merging the scripted content of HBO Max with Discovery‘s established library of unscripted content. Zaslav was not humble with his hopes for the service, saying that he wanted the new service to be “one of the top streaming companies in the world.”
The new service is set to be unveiled on Wednesday by Warner Bros. Discovery executives. The service will combine HBO‘s catalog of classic series such as The Sopranos and Game of Thrones with Discovery series such as Fixer Upper. The service will be called, simply, Max, whittling down the HBO Max moniker, but seriously expanding the content. According to the New York Times report, the service will cost about $16 a month, in keeping with HBO Max‘s current price point. The new service will also include several price tiers, including a less expensive option that also includes advertising.
There is a lot riding on the yet-to-debut streaming service. The company has had a rough year, with many projects being shelved and company layoffs shadowing the excitement over the upcoming service. Many of these cuts are in owing to the debt load taken on after the merger between Warner Bros. Discovery and HBO. Gunnar Wiedenfels, chief financial officer for Warner Bros. Discovery made it clear that the new streaming service was “one of our big, big priorities for this year.” He also noted that the service is “…an absolutely critical milestone.”
What Does Warner Bros’ New Plan Mean for HBO Max Subscribers?
However, the prospect of this new mega-streaming service is a bit less shiny than it was in 2021 when it was first announced. The arena of streaming has been seeing cuts and compromises across the board, with streaming giants such as Netflix seeing a surprising downturn in subscribers. Netflix, too, has had to adjust to a market in which budgets are stretched thin across many streaming services. Due to this shift, Max is looking to be less like the bells and whistles service that was originally promised, instead focusing on profit above all else.
And the upcoming unveiling on Wednesday is also likely to be less extravagant than previous streaming service unveilings, according to the Times report. The report also noted that the “…event will be just over an hour and feature no stars”. “Instead,” the report continued. “The event will unveil the new service’s name, marketing plans, and technological upgrades, as well as some TV series and movie announcements.”
As for what this means for existing HBO Max subscribers, well, that’s still up in the air, as plans for migrating subscribers have yet to be announced. Discovery+ subscribers will maintain their Discovery+ subscriptions, as the streaming platform will remain a separate entity even after Max debuts.
The hope is that the addition of Discovery content will add to viewership on the app, and Julia Alexander, who serves as the director of strategy at the research firm Parrot Analytics noted that she is “skeptical that it will drive the level of subscriber acquisition that some on Wall Street are looking for.” However, she does note that “unscripted programming creates… increased engagement.” So the merging of the two content libraries might just be the kick that the company is looking for.
Alexander also noted that “dropping HBO from the name is cementing that we’re not just a home for premium programming.” The new service, and its new, streamlined title are hoping to signal to viewers that they are “…the home for anything you want to watch.’”
Stay tuned at Collider for further updates on the merged streaming service.
via Collider