BO Max and Discovery+ will become one combined streaming service next year, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav announced Thursday, months after the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery brought the two streaming platforms under the same roof.
Key facts
- On a second-quarter earnings call, Zaslav said the company plans to create an “integrated VOD service” bringing “HBO Max and Discovery+ together under one offering.”
- The new streaming service will launch in the U.S. next summer, and throughout the globe through 2024.
- A free ad-supported tier will be available for viewers, said JB Perrette, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming division.
- The company will also “fully embrace” film releases in theaters, Zaslav said, rather than making them available on streaming platforms and on-demand at the same time.
Big number
92.1 million. That’s how many subscribers the company reported across HBO, HBO Max and Discovery+, an increase of 1.7 million from the first quarter. By comparison, Netflix has 220.67 million subscribers, and Disney’s platforms Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ have over 205 million combined.
Key background
WarnerMedia, which was previously owned by AT&T, was acquired by Discovery in April, creating Warner Bros. Discovery and combining properties like HBO and CNN with Discovery’s cable networks and streaming service. Zaslav has said he wanted to find $3 billion in savings in the newly-formed company, and in just three months has made several sweeping changes to the company, like axing streaming service CNN+ only a month after it launched and pulling the plug on Batgirl despite spending $90 million to make the film. Combining HBO Max and Discovery+ into one streaming service is not a new idea: Zaslav and other executives have previously suggested this was their intention. The merging of the two services could be a cost-saving measure, but Zaslav also presented it as part of the company’s strategy to “maximize” and “monetize” its content to as wide of an audience as possible. Rumors of major restructuring were widely reported Wednesday ahead of the earnings call. Earlier on Thursday, Warner Bros. Discovery announced some CNN content will become available on Discovery+, and some Discovery+ content from Chip and Joanna Gaines will be made available on HBO Max.