Earlier this year, Warner Bros and Discovery merged to become Warner Bros. Discovery, which seemed a little strange, but everyone sort of forgot about it, that is, until the last few weeks when HBO Max made a number of confusing moves regarding its original content. This eventually led to an announcement that the streamer would be merging with Discovery+ in the summer of 2023, and now the internet is trying to piece together what to expect.
The merger is a lot to digest, considering that HBO is best known for its high-quality, critically acclaimed drama shows and fantasy-adjacent epic series, while Discovery is largely known for Shark Week. It’s…an interesting strategy. Obviously, some fans are confused about what this means about their favorite TV shows that are currently airing on HBO and HBO Max. While there has been positive news about some shows, like Peacemaker, the fate of others is still up in the air. But, it seems like both HBO Max and Discovery+ will hopefully try to stay consistent with what they are offering now and just condense their two services into one. Don’t worry, they know that both networks have extremely different content, but they seemingly aren’t worried about that.
While some HBO Max original movies were yanked from the streamer earlier this month, it’s unclear what will continue once the combined streamer launches next summer. It seems like HBO Max is also ditching its 45-day theatrical release window, which means HBO movies might not arrive on the combined streamer quite as quickly as they used to, specifically due to the pandemic.
What we don’t know is how much the streaming service will cost (or what it will be called!), considering that HBO Max currently costs $10/month with ads and $15/month without them, while Discovery+ is a bit cheaper: just $5/month with ads, and $7/month without them. It’s possible the price would combine, but that would cost upwards of $20, which is not the ideal price for a streaming service that nobody was really expecting.
Again, most things are up in the air at the moment, but here is what we know: the two streamers will join forces in the summer of 2023, where hopefully fan-favorite shows and content will still be produced, along with Discovery+ favorites like Married At First Sight. There is something for everyone! Maybe.
