HBO Max will soon be no more. At its first earnings call since the two media properties merged earlier this year, Warner Bros. Discovery announced that it is planning to combine HBOMax and Discovery+ into one streaming service that will debut in the summer of 2023. We don’t know if the new streamer will reference HBO at all. The company’s head of global streaming JB Perrette said that the company is still doing research on how consumers feel about the brand name.
The news comes on the heels of the merged company’s $3.42 billion net loss during the second quarter. “At the end of the day, putting all the content together was the only way we saw to make this a viable business,” Perrette told analysts.
The company needs to cut $3 billion in costs, so there are rumors that a gutting of HBO Max is now underway. Executives didn’t hint at the name of the new platform or any price details but did note that it will include an ad-free and less costly ad-supported plan. It may also add a free, ad-supported tier to expand the audience even more.
No mention was made of layoffs, and we don’t know how the merger will affect future content offerings. The company did announce this week that it was canceling two movies in development for HBO Max — Batgirl and Scoob!. And the streamer announced it was canceling the show The Gordita Chronicles and putting an end to live-action kids and family programming.
Source Engadget
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Filed Under: Entertainment News
