In an unprecedented move, HBO is looking to license some of its original series to Netflix. That is, corporate parent Warner Bros. Discovery is reportedly looking to make a deal happen. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the two streaming rivals are in talks to an undisclosed list of HBO originals to make their way to Netflix. Such is the new environment under CEO David Zaslav. It’s one more (potential) shift in the branding and vibe of HBO, whose streaming service has been turned from HBO Max into Max, and has been known for decades as much for its astonishing series as for its exclusivity. The point of HBO shows is that you had to pay for HBO to get them.
The article also claims that HBO execs fought against such a deal, but Warner Bros. Discovery execs have won out in pushing the deal forward.
Ostensibly, the key to a deal that wouldn’t totally screw over Max is to limit the amount of shows being licensed. Otherwise Max would become redundant except for its HGTV fare and revert back into whatever Discovery’s streaming service was called.
On the other hand, it might be great to have legacy HBO originals on Netflix. It’s not like anyone is subscribing to HBO because they’ve just gotta finally watch The Sopranos, but you can imagine a whole new generation of people falling in love with the original Golden Era staples if they could click their way to them.
(via The Hollywood Reporter)
