The Warner/HBO/Discovery merger has been the subject of controversy ever since it was publicly announced. Leaders led by David Zaslav made business decisions that angered professionals and subscribers, including removing several titles, shelving HBO projects, and failing to properly credit writers and directors. Now, a new report from IndieWire reveals a notable discrepancy regarding the titles of Discovery and HBO on the rebranded Max platform.
IndieWire reports that, according to research by streaming aggregator Reelgood, more than half of the titles in Max’s library are Discovery+ shows, and only 3% of the 1,208 episodes in the digital library are Max exclusives. While Discovery certainly has a hefty pool of content to draw from - and some of its original series don’t require paying leftovers to stay in the catalog - you can’t ignore the fact that the merger represents a loss for Max subscribers. as they are bound to be more interested in HBO content.
In addition, Discovery+ still maintains its own separate app, which means that subscribers who actually Really who want to consume Discovery content have alternatives to finding what they want to watch, while rejected HBO shows are lost in the void. The new streaming platform only brought in 42% of the HBO Max series. Western world, Chad, Generation+ion, Endless Train, Personal life, minx, Closer, Vinyl, and reality shows Fboy IslandAnd Looking for Magic Mike are among the games that have been categorized as underperforming and that subscribers won’t be able to watch on Max - at least for the foreseeable future.
Long history of disappearing content
The unpopular decisions regarding Max’s titles date back to August, when (then) newly appointed CEO Zaslav announced that the highly anticipated superhero movie Bat Girl was discontinued, although it was in full production and already cost over $90 million. The platform then underwent a “purge” and several titles were removed, prompting the creators to voice their dissatisfaction with the executive’s decision.
Max also pissed off subscribers with a series of crash reports on launch day, and this new information certainly won’t make paying customers happy with the fact that they won’t be able to watch certain titles. While Max and Warner are certainly looking to increase the catalog, the ongoing writers’ strike could have unintended consequences for their plains as production will be halted and no new seasons released until the Alliance of Film and Motion Picture Television Producers (AMPTP) refuses to negotiate. with WGA.
Stay tuned to Collider for updates on the ongoing strike and updates on Max as soon as they’re announced.
Source: Collider
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