HBO Max and Discovery+ will merge into one streaming service with ad-supported tier

AT&T's WarnerMedia is merging with Discovery to create a new streaming service

A still unnamed streaming platform spawned from the Discovery and WarnerMedia merger is set to launch in the summer of 2023 in the US, with other regions launching in 2024.

In May of 2021, AT&T's WarnerMedia merged with Discovery in a $43 billion deal, with plans to create a single streaming service.

On Thursday, Discovery CEO David Zaslav told investors that the new service would combine HBO Max and Discovery+. Previously it was reported that the service might also contain content from CNN.

Separately, the two services have 92 million subscribers, notes NBC News. Warner Bros. Discovery hopes to reach 130 million subscribers globally by 2025.

The company is currently considering a free, ad-supported version of the streaming platform. As of now, HBO Max's ad-supported tier costs $10 per month.

Warner Bros. Discovery had announced in 2021 that they would aim to save more than $3 billion with cost-saving strategies after two years. The company hopes to put that money back into creating streaming content.

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9 Comments

RudeBoyRudy

said about 1 year ago

LOLOLOL

okay then.

Paul_B

said about 1 year ago

"92 million subscribers, notes NBC News. " - CNN reported 192 million - On the ground laughing!! PBS is learning the Alphabet and still doesn't have the capacity to count!!!

22july2013

said about 1 year ago

with other regions launching in 2024.
I presume those "other regions" will have a stripped down version of its US content, just like Paramount+ does, and yet without a discounted price.

2morrow

said about 1 year ago

This is another case of 1+1= 1. I understand they are trying to offer something for the whole family but HBOMax was already a little high on the price side. Adding Discovery to a service doesn’t add value to people who watch the shows and movies that HBOMax caters to. It’s fine for the consumer if the price stays to same but it won’t. The costs of the Discovery programming will increase the price of this new streamer eventually if not when it gets rebranded.

aatb

said about 1 year ago

This seems like the merger of two very different audiences. For example, I have Discovery+. I don't have HBO Max. If I have to have HBO Max to get access to Discovery+ content, I'll drop it altogether. I like some of Discovery+'s offerings (things like Mythbusters etc.) but not enough to keep it if the price goes up or if I have to sift through a ton of un-related content to find what I like.