HBO Max

HBO Max will merge with Discovery+ to become one streaming service next year, and creators such as Issa Rae are concerned about the future of their shows.

Robin Thede, creator of “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” which also streams on HBO Max, quickly hopped in the replies to add “SAME.” “Content that really resonates with people is much more important than just having lots of content,” Zaslav said during Thursday’s call with analysts. On Tuesday, Warner Bros. announced it had canceled the release of the already-filmed original movie “Batgirl,” which cost an estimated $90 million. They can’t be that stupid.” The shift follows Chief Executive David Zaslav’s new ethos that with more content available than ever, quality trumps quantity. HBO and HBO Max reported a combined 76.8 million subscribers at the end of the first quarter of 2022, making it one of the more formidable competitors to Netflix and Disney+. HBO Max is the streaming home of a broad array of DC content, including the “Dark Knight” trilogy, “Peacemaker” and the animated “Harley Quinn” series.

Warner Bros. Discovery is planning some major changes for its media properties.

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Warner Bros. Discovery gave more details on its strategy to compete in the streaming wars.

Warner Bros. Discovery reported 92.1 million streaming subscribers for its services including HBO Max and Discovery+, an increase of 1.7 million from the end of the first quarter. On a pro forma basis, revenues were down 3% from the combined revenues of the two companies during the same quarter last year. The $90-million film had completed shooting and was in postproduction, but fell victim to the studio’s new corporate mandate after its merger with Discovery Inc. The media giant reported a loss of $3.42 billion, or a loss of $1.50 a share. At the same time, HBO Max is getting content from “Fixer Upper” stars Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network starting next month, in a preview of what the combined streaming service could look like. HBO Max is one of many streaming services trying to compete with Netflix and Disney+. Netflix in July said it lost 970,000 subscribers during its most recent quarter. Paramount Global on Thursday said Paramount+ added 3.7 million subscribers during the quarter to cross the 43-million mark. AT&T spun off WarnerMedia, which merged with Discovery in a $43 billion deal that closed earlier this year. Combining HBO Max and Discovery+ will be no simple feat, since the services have very different types of content. The company expects its U.S. streaming business should be profitable in 2024. “Owning the content that really resonates with people is much more important than just having lots of content,” Zaslav said during a call with analysts. The company did not say what the new service would be called.

Magnolia Network series and the "Fixer Upper" series fronted by Chip and Joanna Gaines will begin streaming on HBO Max in September.

It bowed in January as a linear channel rebranded from Discovery’s DIY Network. The news comes ahead of Warner Bros. Discovery’s Q2 earnings report and presentation later today which is expected to be when CEO David Zaslav & co. reveal more about the future of HBO Max and Discovery+ — which are set to be combined into one platform at some point — and plans for the rest of the company.

A number of movies have been quietly removed from HBO Max's line-up, while the recently completed "Batgirl" film has been controversially shelved.

"We're out here worrying about the HBO Max shows we already love but soooo many people are about to get their years of hard development work thrown out and we'll never even know," MacKenzie tweeted. "The crumbling of HBO Max before our eyes is infuriating. "AT&T pushed HBO Max in our faces because they wanted our sweet sweet data (and use their wack cell service) and despite bad UI and a buggy launch it was/is great. "HBO Max is one of the best streaming services around because they actually have movies!" The Hollywood Reporter and Vulture contributor Richard Newby also weighed in on the matter, commenting: "The last days of HBO Max feeling increasing likely. "This sounds, like so many recent moves like the Batgirl thing, as David Zaslav just wants to take a sledgehammer to everything his predecessor did with HBO Max."

It is absolute chaos at WB, DC and HBO right now, as the recent unthinkable cancellation of a nearly-finished Batgirl movie appears to have only been the ...

Even on the HBO side, I have to wonder if there are going to be cuts, as I don’t know if it’s guarantee the lack of a “Max” label means safe haven. This isn’t everything, and it’s not like everything on the HBO Max list is doomed (Peacemaker allegedly is safe), but we’ll have to see how this unprecedented situation unfolds. Even if some shows may survive, it seems like there are about to be a whole lot of cancellations as WB cleaves through its Max lineup.

The HGTV icons are bringing multiple shows from their Magnolia Networks banner to the streamer, including all five seasons of Fixer Upper.

Although HBO series’ like Succession, Euphoria, The White Lotus, and yes, House Of The Dragon likely won’t be affected, any Max Originals could be far less lucky. If only the Gaines’ could take a swing at fixing up WarnerMedia’s financial strategy and rescue one of the best streaming services out there. These days, it seems you either die a hero or live long enough to see your favorite streamer slowly yet surely turn into HGTV. HBO Max fans must be short on heroism these days— home improvement icons Chip and Joanna Gaines are set to move multiple shows from their Magnolia Networks banner to the streamer, Variety reports.

Big changes may be in store for HBO Max. Sources report that Warner Bros. Discovery will be restructuring ahead of its Q2 earnings call.

If it comes to pass, an awful situation for creatives who poured their hearts and souls into projects that can just disappear on a whim.— Richard Newby (@RICHARDLNEWBY) August 3, 2022 This isn't just about a few movies.— C. Robert Cargill (@Massawyrm) August 3, 2022 The crumbling of HBO Max before our eyes is infuriating. A true shame. HBO Max is by far the best of the streamers with a great catalogue of shows and movies - not sure what the thought process here is other than corporate greed.— Emmy Potter (@emmylanepotter) August 3, 2022 if HBO Max really is folding into Discovery Plus and ditching all the scripted content that might be the single dumbest decision made by any corporation in the streaming age— halloween is a demonic holiday (@thesolarcoffee) August 3, 2022

The war between streaming services has been a nail-bitter recently. Despite securing an early lead by, ya know, pioneering the concept, Netflix has been ...

HBO content chief Casey Bloys is reportedly set to take on a more senior position once consolidation is complete. Although they came out the gate with a slew of content while also serving as a safe haven for film releases during the first wave of Covid lockdowns, HBO Max is starting to feel the pinch of the Warner Brothers and Discovery merger. Virtually every piece of content on Warner Brothers and Discovery's shared roster has been caught in the crossfire of the company's consolidation efforts, and it seems like HBO Max is about to experience a few merger-related cuts.

Content from Chip and Joanna Gaines' Magnolia Network will soon be available on HBO Max.

Additionally, the Gaines’ new project, Fixer Upper: The Castle, will drop concurrently on Magnolia Network, HBO Max and discovery+ at 9p ET/8p CT on Friday, October 14. The move to HBO Max falls under the new Warner Bros. Discovery leadership, in which Magnolia Network moved from Discovery to the Warner Bros. side of the company under HBO and HBO Max Chief Content Officer Casey Bloys. More Magnolia Network content will appear on the HBO Max spotlight page over the coming months, and the full network slate will continue to be available on discovery+.

With 76.8 million global subscribers, HBO Max is one of the most popular streaming services. The platform, which is owned by Warner Bros.

“The crumbling of HBO Max before our eyes is infuriating. This is such a blow to the filmmakers.https://t.co/y0z0N4cCgG The crumbling of HBO Max before our eyes is infuriating. These changes in HBO Max seem to be irking subscribers who are taking to Twitter to express their disappointment. All these suspicions were confirmed when it was announced that Warner Bros. will no longer release Batgirl, despite it being in the final stages of post-production. With 76.8 million global subscribers, HBO Max is one of the most popular streaming services.

Six Warner Bros. movies exclusive to HBO Max have been removed from the streaming service day after Warner Bros. Discovery axed 'Batgirl'

Warner Bros. Discovery seems to feel that they are losing profits on streaming alone, and it is more than likely that these movies were removed to cut costs. Now Variety reports that six Warner Bros. films exclusive to HBO Max have been removed. Six HBO Max movies from Warner Bros. have been removed from the streaming service.

Reddit users noted the removals following news that Warner Bros. would no longer be releasing two big projects.

Although it's not unusual for streaming services to have a rotating selection of content, these changes are almost always shared with subscribers in advance—like when HBO Max announced they would be massively expanding their catalog of A24 films. "Also a bunch of already-released Max movies have been pulled from the service in recent weeks (The Witches and An American Pickle among them)." In addition to the last-minute cancelation of the House Party remake, at least six Warner Bros. movies—all "Max Originals"—have been removed from the platform.

What the heck is going on at HBO Max? The streaming service, the home of prestigious HBO TV shows, Warner Bros. and DC Comics films, along with original ...

"We’re going to spend significantly more on the HBO Max product," he said. (Bourdain's first travel and food show, "No Reservations," was already on Discovery+ because it originally aired on The Travel Channel). Earlier this year, the CNN+ streaming service, was scrapped by Warner Bros. Discovery leadership after just a month. As far as other changes, kids and family programming is no longer a priority for the new company. The deal put HBO Max under new management, with its own ideas about what HBO Max should be. HBO Max is the streaming service started by the company formerly known as WarnerMedia, which included premium cable channel HBO, but also programming from cable networks including TBS, TNT and CNN and the Warner Bros. film studio. In the earnings call, Zaslav was firm that he does not believe in releasing films straight to streaming.

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is expected to reveal the fate of popular HBO Max originals like Hacks, Peacemaker and South Side.

Scrapping releases and scrubbing originals from the service will help the company in the form of tax breaks, IndieWire reports. Fans of the service, which is considered by many to have the strongest library of any streamer, have been vocal with their opposition to the rumored moves. Fans first began sounding the alarm this week when Warner Bros. announced that it was scrapping its HBO Max original film "Batgirl", despite filming already being complete.

Magnlia Network shows will go to HBO Max and CNN shows will appear on Discovery+ as Warner Bros. Discovery keeps the streaming services separate for now.

At the same time, the company also said Thursday that CNN will get its own “hub” on Discovery+, with CNN original series like Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy and Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown joining the service. The programming shift is the first time that legacy Discovery programming will be added to HBO Max. The content will continue to be available on Discovery+. For starters, the company said that “select” programming from Magnolia Network, the joint venture between Discovery and Chip and Joanna Gaines, would launch on HBO Max in September. That will include a new series, Fixer Upper: The Castle, which sees the hosts fixing up their own home.

Huge changes are afoot at HBO Max. Chip and Joanna Gaines are putting content on the streaming service, but Batgirl and exclusive films are gone.

That debt is a sword hanging over the company’s head. Later today, Zaslav could repeat what his company did at The CW and commence with a second “ Red Wedding,” going on a canceling spree to further chip away at the $55 billion debt the company incurred in the merger. “We can’t wait to bring these stories we love—including our next adventure, Fixer Upper: The Castle—to HBO Max this September,” said a statement from the couple in an HBO Max press release. Now, just days after his company canceled Batgirl for a tax write-off, rumors are flying that HBO Max is going to be gutted, too. The next day, HBO Max quietly pulled a number of HBO Max-exclusive films from the service and canceled others in production, further raising fears. It should not surprise you that HBO Max is about to be in a world of hurt.

After the news of Warner Bros. Discovery shelving DC's 'Batgirl,' it's pulling more titles from HBO Max, including Max Original movies like 'Moonshot' and ...

Per Buffering, the word is that he feels future “movies on the Made for Max slate should now come in with a budget under $35 million.” Variety did state that the removal of the service’s six Max Originals was an effort to “cut costs” by axing less-popular streaming titles — after publishing a separate report claiming an insider’s reasoning for Batgirl being shelved was “ taxes.” Looks like HBO Max’s year of instability starts now. Variety confirmed the report, stating that at least six films made and released exclusively on the streaming service were recently pulled from HBO Max without the company mentioning it in its monthly reports of films leaving the service. Something strange is going on over at HBO Max. After the news of Warner Bros. Discovery shelving DC’s upcoming straight-to-streaming Batgirl and Scoob!: Holiday Haunt, keen-eyed Reddit users noticed that certain Max Original films had been pulled from the service altogether. A Reddit thread from a month ago noticed a handful of HBO Max’s foreign shows like Amsterdam had also been quietly removed. “The content being targeted for removal tends to be shows and movies that are not performing on the service but have an opportunity for a partial write off,” per that report. Indiewire reported that a “long list of films and series” will continue to be pulled as Warner Bros. Discovery plans to eventually merge its two streaming services.

More than eight shows, including the full 'Fixer Upper' library and the debut of the Gaines' 'Fixer Upper: The Castle,' will land on the streamer.

Fixer Upper on HGTV was previously nominated in 2017 and 2018, but the couple were not producers of the show at that time. Magnolia Network launched on discovery+ in the summer of 2021. “Chip and Jo are without a doubt the most beloved duo in the home renovation and lifestyle space, with a legion of fans who have followed them from Fixer Upper to the launch of their very own network.

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD)-owned streaming service HBO Max appears to be on the verge of a self-inflicted collapse. The future of the streamer became ...

WBD looks set to follow NBCUniversal, which earlier this summer quietly stopped including the premium tier of Peacock as an included perk of its Xfinity pay TV offer. It was also noticed this week that HBO Max has quietly removed half a dozen films branded as ‘Max Originals’ without any prior notice. One bit of good news is that Peacemaker showrunner James Gunn has told fans to ‘calm down’ and that the series will return for its previously announced second season. The future of the streamer became increasingly uncertain this week, when it was revealed that WBD execs had shelved the $90m-budget Batgirl movie despite it being in post production. The reported decision making has caused ire amongst streaming fans. Sounds like they’re not doing HBO Max scripted shows anymore with HBO taking over, so less scripted shows overall.”

(NEXSTAR) — Is HBO Max getting the axe? On Thursday, fans of the two-year-old streaming service are waiting to learn the fate of new favorite original ...

The company is considering a free, ad-supported version of the combined streaming platform, Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav said Thursday on an ...

He is keen on big-budget spectacles that can lure audiences to brick-and-mortar theaters — like Paramount's "Top Gun: Maverick" did this year. HBO Max's ad-supported tier currently costs $10 a month. The move reshuffles the streaming marketplace, where HBO Max is widely seen as a budding success story. Warner Bros. Discovery hopes to reach 130 million global subscribers by 2025. HBO and HBO Max rose to a combined — and respectable — 76.8 million global subscribers at the end of the first quarter of the fiscal year. The current versions of HBO Max and Discovery+ account for a combined 92 million subscribers, according to the quarterly earnings report.

Warner Bros. Discovery announced that HBO Max and Discovery+ will become one streamer to launch next summer.

We are incredibly grateful to the filmmakers of Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt and their respective casts and we hope to collaborate with everyone again in the near future." HBO Max dispelled such rumors, however, on Thursday, announcing that select programs from Chip and Joanna Gaines' Magnolia Network, including Fixer Upper, would arrive in September. The streamer also recently announced a new season of Selena Gomez's cooking show, Selena + Chef, an HBO Max original. As directors, it is critical that our work be shown to audiences, and while the film was far from finished, we wish that fans all over the world would have had the opportunity to see and embrace the final film themselves. Zaslav said DC remains at the "top of the list" for the brand when asked about the scrapping of Batgirl, adding that Black Adam, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, and The Flash remain on the roster. The team also denied rumors that the merger would result in the scaling down of original programs. The restructuring will also "fully embrace theatrical" film releases following news that Batgirl would be shelved, cancelling plans of an HBO Max and theatrical debut.

In its latest Q2 earnings call, Warner Bros. Discovery said its new streaming strategy will combine its two services.

The Wrap reported Wednesday that the company planned to layoff 70% of its development business, according to “multiple insiders,” so your mileage may vary on that point. Execs also said part of these struggles have included the ill-fated CNN+, which didn’t even have the chance to scream before it was axed right out the starting gate. Considering that Paramount Global and its flagship streaming service Paramount+ announced today that it had added 3.7 million subscribers, Warner’s move is a curious one. This new free “ad-light” tier might have a focus on Warner Bros. old library of classic films ( FilmStruck Hive rise up). Perrette also said they will re-look at how they license some of their back catalog. The move comes days after Warner Bros. Discovery announced they were killing the anticipated multimillion-dollar Batgirl movie and the world realized it had been removing shows from the HBO Max service for weeks. Its $9.8 billion revenue was down 1% compared to the same period last year. “We cannot find an economic case for it.” “HBO Max has a competitive feature set but has had performance and customer issues. The company said it lost over $1 billion from restructuring costs, alongside buying up sports rights. Still, it’s an eye-popping decision considering HBO Max had grown by 3 million subscribers in its first quarter this year. Discovery+ has best in class performance, and consumer ratings, but more limited features.” Still, in order to placate investors, they promise they’ll see a total subscriber base of around 130 million globally.

The prestige streaming service wasn't axed. But the era of streaming-only movies appears to be receding.

The merging of HBO Max and Discovery+, two specialty platforms, shows perhaps that the one-lane approach is not viable for major corporations. Zaslav firmly rejected that narrative on Thursday, saying the company would “fully embrace theatrical.” He says the company will no longer release films on streaming at the same time as in theaters, and that streaming-only projects like Batgirl would not be a part of their strategy at all. WBD’s moves continue that trend—and also reveal the increased importance of courting not just a well-off U.S. subscriber base, but the entire world. Zaslav even mentioned the upcoming and embattled The Flash movie as one of the films he was “very excited” about. “As we look at the opportunities we have broadly, DC is top of the list for us,” Zaslav said. In presenting the fusion, Wiedenfels talked about how the audiences of HBO Max and Discovery+ were so different that they were actually complementary. The announcement came on the heels of Netflix’s decision to add a lower-cost subscription with commercials. This week, HBO Max announced that it would soon start streaming multiple shows from the TV empire of Chip and Joanna Gaines (Fixer Upper), who may lack critical accolades, but more than make up for it in broad appeal and viewership. While Zaslav said the word “prestige” many times on the call, the moves that he’s made in the past few months reveal a different approach than his HBO predecessors. But these worst-case scenarios failed to materialize at the company’s earnings call on Thursday. Instead, WBD announced the melding of HBO Max with another streaming platform, Discovery+, as well as several other key shifts. Earlier this week, Film Twitter spiraled into an unhappy frenzy upon hearing the news that Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) had killed the upcoming movie Batgirl. The DC Comics movie had filmed for seven months with a reported budget of $90 million—and now, thanks to the apparent finger snap of an executive, it was vanishing into thin air. But clearly, the management has changed, and he’s got a much more cost-conscious approach.”

In the second quarter, the media conglomerate said HBO Max, HBO and Discovery+ subscribers combined were 92.1 million, up 1.7 million from 90.4 million the ...

Discovery+, meanwhile, is “the definitive non-fiction, real-life subscription streaming service,” according to WBD. It comprises shows from Discovery’s portfolio of networks, including HGTV, Food Network, TLC, ID, OWN, Travel Channel, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and Magnolia Network, as well as original titles and exclusive content. For Q1, AT&T — the prior owner of WarnerMedia and HBO Max — had reported 76.8 million total HBO and HBO Max subscribers worldwide, including 48.6 million domestically. Meanwhile, Discovery reported 24 million direct-to-consumer subscribers in Q1. That adds up to 100.8 million — so what accounts for the discrepancy with the first-quarter pro-forma total WBD reported? HBO Max includes HBO originals like “Euphoria” and “Succession,” library content including “Friends” and “The Big Bang Theory,” kids shows including “Sesame Street,” movies, specials, and Max originals like “Hacks” and “The Peacemaker.” Currently, HBO Max is available for $14.99/month without ads and $9.99/month with ads in the U.S. Discovery+ is priced at $6.99/month without ads and $4.99/month with ads. That’s up 22% 75.8 million on a pro-forma basis versus a year earlier.

On an earnings call Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav made it clear that HBO Max and Discovery Plus would be combined into a new service.

Zaslav made efforts to calm those fears during the call and insisted the HBO Max programming overall was good and supported by the company at large. During the question and answer segment of the call Zaslav said HBO Max has started to become a brand in and of itself—and one specifically associated with quality. Early in the week, the company made the decision to remove the nearly complete Batgirl from the release calendar and shuttle it off to the vault.

Warner Bros. Discovery announced a timeline for HBO Max and Discovery+ to be fused together.

WBD took a step Thursday toward unifying HBO Max and Discovery+ on the content side, announcing that Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network programming will be coming to HBO Max this September (while remaining on Discovery+). But, HBO will continue to be a major brand: “HBO will always be the beacon and the ultimate brand that stands for television quality,” he said on the call. Warner Bros. Discovery is initially focused on the ad-supported and ad-free versions of the combined HBO Max-Discovery+, Perrette said, but is also “exploring how to reach customers in the free, ad-supported space” with content that is totally different from what’s on the premium VOD services. Bringing HBO Max and Discovery+ together is aimed at cutting churn so “there’s something for everyone in the household,” he said. Currently, HBO Max is available for $14.99/month without ads and $9.99/month with ads in the U.S. Discovery+ is priced at $6.99/month without ads and $4.99/month with ads. That’s up 22% 75.8 million on a pro-forma basis versus a year earlier.