Confirmed today during the Warner Bros. Discovery investor call, WBD CEO David Zaslav confirmed that the combined HBO Max/Discovery+ streaming service will no longer roll out in the summer of 2023 but even earlier, debuting in the spring of next year instead. It was previously announced that the two services would combine into one next summer with no specific reason given for the timeline moving up. The launch of the service, which doesn’t yet have a name, will begin in the United States before rolling out to other regions in the following months in 2023 with Europe not getting the combined services until 2024.
Videos by ComicBook.com
“We expect a healthy inflection with the launch of our combined service and expanded global footprint,” Zaslav said on the call. “With that we are excited to announce that we have moved up our U.S. launch date from summer of 2023 to spring. We’ve been very hard at work. We can make the service available to consumers around the globe and get the business running on all cylinders.”
Zaslav went on to confirm that the new service will be combining the product design that they use on Discovery+ but bolstering it with the array of content available on HBO Max. The company has already been experimenting with changes to HBO Max that have encouraged their feelings on a combined service, releasing content from the Magnolia Network on the service and then adding a recommendation title card at the end of content for similar titles.
“Our primary focus for the rollout will be in the markets where HBO Max has already launched,” JB Perrette, President & CEO of Discovery Streaming & International, previously said about the merger of the streamers. “We plan to launch the service sequentially starting in the US next summer, Latin America will follow later in the year. European markets with HBO Max will follow in early 24 with additional launches in key Asia Pacific territories and some new European markets coming later in 2024. Of course, as we get more of the development work and testing under our belts, we will explore ways to accelerate the rollout if and where it makes sense.”
“With respect to streaming, our main priority right now is launching an integrated SVOD service,” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said earlier this year. “And in a few moments, JB will talk more about the strategy and some of the key building blocks and milestones as we bring HBO Max and Discovery+ together under one offering. Our streaming strategy has evolved over the past year and really reflects the importance of rather than the dependence on this segment of our global content monetization plan.”
You can read more about Warner Bros. Discovery’s latest news and controversies below:
Related Posts
-
Suicide Squad Isekai Funko Pops
