The merger between HBO and Discovery has been in the works for some time, but the new name for HBO Max was just announced. Upon merging with Discovery+, the new platform will drop “HBO” and just go by Max.
What’s Changing?
In short, HBO Max’s current line-up will be expanded to include content for Discovery+.
Max will launch on May 23, 2023, and there will be three tiers. Tiers 1 and 2 match the existing subscriptions for HBO Max, but a 3rd tier changes that.
- Tier 1: Max Ad-Lite. Stream in Full HD on 2 devices, concurrently. $9.99/month or $99.99/year.
- Tier 2: Max Ad Free. Stream in Full HD on 2 devices, concurrently. Plus up to 30 offline downloads. 5.1 surround sound. $15.99/month or $149.99/year.
- Tier 3: Max Ultimate Ad Free. Stream in up to 4K Ultra HD resolution on 4 devices, concurrently. Plus up to 100 offline downloads. Dolby Atmos sound. $19.99/month or $199.99/year.
For now, HBO Max subscribers will not experience a price change unless they choose to upgrade.
Discovery+ includes HGTV, Discovery Channel, and Food Network.
What Stays the Same for HBO Max Subscribers?
According to Variety, a lot will stay the same for current subscribers.
That includes:
- Streaming on all the same devices as HBO Max
- Access to current plan features for a minimum of 6 months after May 23
- Profiles, watch history, and settings will migrate to Max
- Users’ “Continue Watching” and “My List” will also migrate
What About Discovery+ Subscribers?
Earlier this year, HBO abandoned their plans to shut down Discovery+ as a standalone platform.
According to Warner Brothers, who owns both of the merging platforms, Discovery+ will continue to be available on its own. Discovery+ is available with two tiers: $4.99/month for streaming with ads and $6.99/month for ad-free streaming.
Concerns About the Merger
Even though the user experience will be mostly the same after the transition to Max, some critics have voiced concerns.
Douglas Laman, a Rotten Tomatoes reviewer and writer for Collider, writes:
Though not as urgent as other Warner Bros. Discovery issues like allegations that the new company has targeted executives of color and programs anchored by people of color in its cancelations, the dilution of HBO by combining its programming with significant chunks of Discovery+ programming is extremely disheartening. For one thing, it’s unclear why the company is so concerned with overhauling its streaming ambitions given that things are far from awful for HBO Max. The last official numbers released for HBO and HBO Max subscribers combined (Warner Bros. Discovery has recently taken to announcing subscriber numbers by combining the two services with Discovery+’s figures) had them attracting 76.1 million subscribers.
–Douglas Laman
He also wrote:
Of course, the other big reason for taking the side of prestige HBO programming over reality TV shows in this whole Warner Bros. Discovery kerfuffle is that the latter style of storytelling is objectively winning within this company. Warner Bros. Discovery will be keeping Discovery+ a standalone service that doesn’t have to host HBO productions. Between Discovery+ and HBO Max, one streamer will get to maintain its identity and the other will have to radically change.
With this lop-sided balance, it does feel like it’s not at all “snooty” or “elitist” to question this decision by Warner Bros. Discovery and mourn for the ramifications of what this will mean for the HBO Max platform and HBO as a company. Plus, this lack of care or acknowledgment for the underlying importance of HBO’s identity suggests this company’s lack of interest or compassion for the artistic entities it’s acquired. Once again, a major media merger has not “increased jobs” or resulted in flourishing creativity, but rather left things in chaos and disarray.
–Douglas Laman
In August 2022, Alex Sherman wrote for CNBC that HBO was quietly removing 20 HBO Max original series that had significant followings–but not massive engagement or viewing numbers. These were mostly family and kids’ titles:
- 12 Dates of Christmas
- About Last Night
- Aquaman: King of Atlantis
- Close Enough
- Detention Adventure
- Dodo
- Ellen’s Next Great Designer
- Elliott From Earth
- Esme & Roy
- The Fungies!
- Generation Hustle
- Genera+ion
- Infinity Train
- Little Ellen
- Mao Mao, Heroes of Pure Heart
- Messy Goes to Okido
- Mia’s Magic Playground
- Mighty Magiswords
- My Dinner with Herve
- My Mom, Your Dad
- Odo
- OK K.O.! – Let’s Be Heroes
- The Ollie & Moon Show
- Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures
- Ravi Patel’s Pursuit of Happiness
- Select Sesame Street Specials
- Make It Big, Make It Small
- Share
- Squish
- Summer Camp Island
- The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo
- The Runaway Bunny – Special
- Theodosia
- Tig n’ Seek
- Uncle Grandpa
- Victor and Valentino
- Yabba Dabba Dinosaurs
These removals were part of HBO’s cost-saving strategies as Warner Brothers prepared for the merger.
One of the biggest disappointments of the merger was the scrapping of Batgirl, a series that had already finished filming. As a way of reducing costs, HBO stopped post-production and decided that the show would never be aired. What a disappointment!
