Last April, Warner Media bought Discovery and became Warner Bros Discovery, then planned to combine its HBO Max and Discovery+ streaming services into one. Many users worried about price increases, but now it sounds like that’s not happening.
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Warner Bros Discovery will shift its strategy and ditch the plan to merge its two popular streaming services completely.
The report says that unidentified insiders confirmed the news after the company realized combining an expensive service like HBO Max with the affordable Discovery+ could alienate current Discovery subscribers. The thought is that users won’t want to pay substantially higher prices.
In January, HBO Max raised its prices for the first time ever, now costing users $16 per month. For comparison, Discovery+ is $5 per month with ads or $7 without. Combining the two would have likely delivered one streaming service that could cost upwards of $20 per month, which doesn’t sound too appealing.
Instead, it looks like we’ll get an all-new streaming service similar to HBO Max, which could be called “Max” that’ll offer all your typical HBO content along with most Discovery+ content. However, the company will continue offering Discovery+ as a stand-alone option for its users.
Per the WSJ report, Warner Bro Discovery wants to bolster its leading streaming service without cannibalizing the more than 20 million users that actively enjoy Discovery+. The insiders also mention a new completely free ad-supported platform that could offer a little from both, but we’ll have to wait and see.
Either way, it sounds like HBO Max is changing at some point. We’re just not sure how it’ll look when that time comes. I think the company should keep both yet offer a bundle discount similar to what’s available with Disney+, ESPN, and Hulu.
via Deadline
