Combined HBO Max/discovery+ Streaming Service to Launch Summer 2023

Warner Bros. Discovery shed some light on their new combined HBO Max and discovery+ streaming service, revealing its anticipated summer 2023 launch in the U.S. CEO David Zaslav announced the news today during the company’s second quarter earnings call.

The new streamer, which is not yet named (but could very well be branded as either HBO Max or Discovery+) will feature several tiers including ad-free, ad-lite, and ad-only options; they’ll also be exploring a FAST (Free Ad-Supported Television) model down the road, similar to services like Tubi or PlutoTV. It comes as the company makes more of an effort to move away from straight-to-streaming and focuses on theatrical releases and traditional “windows.”

Additionally during the call, Zaslav put an emphasis on “quality” over “quantity,” adding that they cannot find economic value in sending big budget movies straight to the streamer. Because of that, nothing will be released theatrically if it’s not ready. The reasoning comes days after the company announced it was axing a nearly-finished Batgirl flick that cost over $70 million.

Regarding the combined streaming service, it will blend the content from both streamers, so HBO Max users can breathe a sigh of relief since most of the original content seems safe as of now. In the meantime, the two will continue to content share, as announced earlier with select shows from Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network set to premiere on HBO Max.

The entertainment giant has reported a combined total of 92.1 million subscribers between HBO Max and discovery+ in its first full quarter since merging, per The Hollywood Reporter. The company further reported revenues of $9.8 billion and a loss of $3.4 billion.

The two companies WarnerMedia and Discovery officially merged last April in a $43 billion deal, bringing in Zaslav as CEO and keeping Casey Bloys as chief content officer of HBO and HBO Max. It had been reported that Zaslav, who is hell-bent on cost-cutting (re: killing off the $300 million CNN+ just one month after it dropped), is focusing on saving the company $3 billion in the next two years.

HBO Max has cemented itself as one of the top-performing streamers, bringing critically acclaimed shows such as Euphoria and The Flight Attendantwhile discovery+ is known more for its reality content that stems from channels like TLC, Food Network, and Animal Planet.