During the summer, Warner Bros. Discovery announced plans to merge HBO Max and Discovery Plus. In doing so, a new service would be born, combining the audience and content from both services, which was originally set to arrive in the summer of 2023. Now, things have been fast-tracked, and the new service will now debut months ahead of schedule.
During its earnings call, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav announced that the release window for its merged streaming service would debut much sooner than anticipated. If all goes to plan, the service will now debut in Spring 2023. According to Zaslav, this is possible because the merger between the two companies is going better than expected. While this is good news for those interested in a new platform, current HBO Max and Discovery Plus users might not be ready to let go of their current streaming services.
Since the announcement of the merger, Zaslav has made some bold choices. With a focus on reinvigorating profits, he abruptly cut content from HBO Max and canceled projects, with one of the losses being the highly anticipated Batgirl movie. Zaslav has also backed projects, such as The Flash, which some have found to be a controversial move considering the recent problems surrounding the lead actor. There have also been plenty of shifts when it comes to theater release dates, with some of the most highly anticipated films from the studio getting pushed back.
During the earnings call, Warner Bros. Discovery streaming and games head JB Perette discussed the possibility of the price of its streaming service increasing. If so, this would be the first price increase in three years for HBO Max, which has been the most costly out of all the currently available streaming services. It will be interesting to see how Warner Bros. Discovery's new streaming service will differ from the rest, and whether it can bring more value to its viewers.
Source: Warner Bros. Discovery
Via: The Verge
