It’s been a bizarre week for HBO Max. Following the unceremonious cancelation of the planned direct-to-streaming Batgirl movie and removal of more than a handful of “under performing” streaming originals from the platform, CEO David Zaslav took to the stage at an investors call to explain the brand’s strategy moving forward.
Of the big announcements made at the call, the least surprising was confirmation that HBO Max and Discovery+ will be merging into one singular streaming platform in 2023. Details about the platform’s name, pricing, and specific content remain a mystery, but the presentation included a slide explaining that it will be both on-demand and live, include ad-free, ad-lite, and ad-only options, with multiple tiers for content like sports, and offer transactions. This means pay-per-view style offerings are likely on the table–but what exactly they might be, as well as the price points for the various tier options were left out of the presentation.
The new platform’s rollout will be segmented by region. The US will see its debut in summer of 2023, Latin America will get in in the fall of ’23, while Europe and “new markets” will see it through 2024.
Also mentioned in the investors call were “course correction” measures, which mentioned the “restructuring” of the brands’ content portfolios for scripted shows, kids and animation offerings, and direct-to-HBO Max films, so it also remains unknown what of HBO Max’s current offerings and originals will make the jump from their current platform to this new merged platform in the future.
Image via Getty Images/Dimitrios Kambouris/Staff.
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