There’s a lot of jitters in the air surrounding HBO Max this week, especially after it was announced during Thursday’s earnings call HBO Max will be merged with Discovery + to become a single broadcasting platform.
The news came months after WarnerMedia, the parent company of HBO, announced, Merged with Discoveryand later dropped evidence that HBO Max had scaled back its original content.
On Tuesday, Warner Bros. announced. I canceled The release of the original movie “Batgirl” which was already shot and which cost 90 million dollars. Soon, at least six Warner Bros. films were revealed. withdrawn From the streaming service, including “Moonshot,” “Superintelligence,” and “An American Pickle.”
Warner Bros. said. Discovery said Thursday that a combined version of the two streaming devices will launch next year, with the new name coming out. The shift follows CEO David Zaslav’s new spirit that with more content available than ever before, quality trumps quantity.
“Content that resonates with people is much more important than just having a lot of content,” Zaslav said during Thursday’s call with analysts. In other words, at a time when nearly every piece of content ever is available to consumers across any number of free and paid services, organization, quality, and branding have never been more important.
Prior to the call, Actress/Writer/Producer Issa Rae expressed concern about the platform offering her latest shows, “Rap S—” Together with the previous projects “Unsafe” and “Sweet Live: Los Angeles”.
“I found out who I am seducing and plotting in Discovery,” she said chirp Wednesday along with a GIF of someone slipping through in a shiny, comfy dress and carrying a handbag. Robin Thede, the creator of “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” which also airs on HBO Max, quickly jumped in on replies to add “SAME.”
Some commentators put their weight on Thursday’s news, saying they did not believe the merger would materialize.
“if [Warner Bros. Discovery] Kill HBO Max to integrate it into Discovery Plus, it would be one of the dumbest decisions on the planet,” one user chirp. “That’s why I don’t think that’s going to happen. They can’t be that stupid.”
“I’m here stressing HBO Max like it’s a family member in need of prayer,” said Said Jones, author of How We Fight for Our Lives. chirp Thursday before earnings call.
Content creators have expressed skepticism about the planned merger as well.
“I’m not sure if the kindly done fixes by the HBO Max Help team will carry over to Discovery+, so you’ll likely have about a year to lean on and schedule an OK show.” KO arranges a properly written male perversion episode on HBO Max !” chirp Ian James-Quartey, creator of the animated series “OK KO! Let’s Be Champions”.
Sources previously told The Times that canceling projects like “Batgirl” could allow for a tax write-off for Warner Bros. Discovery. However, a person close to the company said that canceling Batgirl was not a money-saving measure.
HBO and HBO Max reported 76.8 million subscribers at the end of the first quarter of 2022, making it one of the most formidable competitors to Netflix and Disney+. HBO Max is the streaming home of a wide range of DC content, including the “Dark Knight” trilogy, “Peacemaker” and the “Harley Quinn” animated series.
“HBO Max’s collapse before our eyes sparks outrage,” chirp Entertainment writer Eric Francisco before making the decision. “Not because we have to love HBO unconditionally but because the service easily has the best library of classic shows and movies and bold originals that never feel like they’re made by algorithms.”
Times staff writer Ryan Founder contributed to this report.
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