HBO Max and Discovery+ to merge into a single streaming service

HBO Max and Discovery+ will merge into a single streaming service, Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav announced on a second-quarter earnings call Thursday.

Zaslav did not reveal a name for the combined platform, which Warner Bros. Discovery said will launch in the U.S. in the summer of 2023, with other countries and regions to follow in 2024.
Daniel Arkin for NBC News:

The move reshuffles the streaming marketplace, where HBO Max is widely seen as a budding success story. HBO and HBO Max rose to a combined — and respectable — 76.8 million global subscribers at the end of the first quarter of the fiscal year.
The announcement also means that employees across HBO Max and other WarnerMedia-owned brands will likely lose their jobs as the company scales back on content spending and eliminates roles thought to be redundant.
The current versions of HBO Max and Discovery+ account for a combined 92 million subscribers, according to the quarterly earnings report.
The company is considering a free, ad-supported version of the combined streaming platform, Zaslav confirmed on the earnings call. HBO Max’s ad-supported tier currently costs $10 a month.

MacDailyNews Take: HBO Max is currently overpriced.
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