Fans of the Warner Bros. Discovery products will soon get to learn more about the upcoming service that will combine HBO Max and discovery+. December brought news that Warner Bros. Discovery was finalizing a name for the merged HBO Max/discovery+ streaming service. “Max” is reportedly the name the company is going with as lawyers go through the process of vetting the name. In fact, those anticipating the service will be happy to know CEO David Zaslav revealed that the combined service is moving up its launch from summer 2023 to the spring, and the announcement of a new press event just may be where we learn all the juicy details.
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Warner Bros. Discovery announced that it’s holding a press event on Wednesday, April 12th at 1:00 p.m. ET (10:00 a.m. PT), where it will discuss “the upcoming enhanced direct-to-consumer streaming product.” Of course, we all know that direct-to-consumer streaming product is the much-anticipated new streaming service with both HBO Max and discovery+ content. The general public will be able to tune into the event to watch along also, where they can hopefully catch the reveal of a name and launch date.
New Price for HBO Max/Discovery+ Combined Streaming Service
A new report from early March states that when Warner Bros. Discovery rolls out its new service, it will seemingly maintain the same pricing that HBO Max already has, $10 for an ad-supported tier and $16 for no ads, while also adding a third tier at $20 with higher video quality and other features. The outlet reports that these plans could still change ahead of the reveal of the service, which is presumably coming on April 12th.
One of the biggest additions that will be made to Max is they will throw in “thousands of titles” on the streaming service, all coming from Discovery’s “library of unscripted lifestyle shows,” I.E. their Discovery+ content. Unlike the earliest reports about the combined service, Warner Bros. Discovery has indicated that Discovery+ will continue to operate on its own rather than be folded into Max completely.
“We’re excited about the fact that we’re going to take all of the Discovery content and put it together with the HBO Max content in a much better platform,” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said in the company’s most recent quarterly earnings call. “But the key to this company is, as a storytelling company, we have this diversity….We have the ability to pick from all of these different baskets to build really what may be most important for us, which is a successful and profitable streaming business. That HBO Max, whatever we call it on the launch, is a product that we take around the world and that has a real impact on how people consume content. We believe in it because we believe we have the best menu of content, the best portfolio, the best quality. And we’re curating now in a way that’s having an impact on America.”
He added, “And so I think that is key to us in terms of building the long-term strength. But the other key is that we have the largest TV and motion picture library and we’re the biggest producer of quality content in the world. And so selling that to drive free cash flow and to nourish the overall segment, so that we, as a media segment, can be successful is important.”
