HBO Max/Discovery+ Merger

[Yespage]

That's fine for you HBO folks but as a sub to Discovery+ at $6.99 I'm waiting to see what happens to us. There is nothing HBO offers that appeals to me, if it did I'd already be a sub, so if they bundle and force the HBO level pricing I'll drop it. Frankly I'm not convinced that merging the two streams into one service is a smart move but time will tell.

Likewise, I don't want to pay for Discovery+. I'm not old, but old enough to remember when Discovery wasn't trash.

I'd be happy if they keep them separate and offer a bundle option to merge the services for those who'd like that. Or ATT could feel free to provide both to me at no extra cost with Fiber.

 

[NashGuy]

Most likely they do a bundle like Hulu/ESPN/Disney Plus,

Companies can and do change their minds but, so far, WBD has repeatedly signaled and then confirmed that they plan to offer one single global mega-service by merging Discovery+ and HBO Max into a unified app.

HBO Max and Discovery Plus Will Be Combined Into One Platform

Discovery — which is about to become Warner Bros. Discovery within the next month, when its merger with AT&T’s WarnerMedia closes — has confirmed its plans to combine its curr…

variety.com

 

[NashGuy]

Why do you think it is a lemon, 24 million subs is pretty good for a service that has only been here for 2 years.

Also, this, they are getting, roughly, $100 million a month, over a billion a year for a service that just shows reruns, all of their programming has already been on linear channels, so already paid for, the money they get from plus is a bonus.

Now I have no desire to get it, no interest at all.

Poor choice of words on my part to call it a lemon. I was rather going for the imagery of squeezing the last bit of juice out of a fruit before throwing it away. By which I mean, rather than going ahead and giving away D+ for free to their HBO Max subs, they're going to try to continue getting a little extra revenue from it all the way up until they actually "throw away" D+ and merge it into HBO Max.

I find it interesting that the offer they mailed me and other HBO Max subs gives us the option to add the basic D+ plan (with ads) for just an extra $99c per month. There's also the option to add the ad-free plan for an extra $3.99. I'm sure this will give them some useful data as to how many folks on each of the HBO Max plans -- $10 vs. $15 -- think D+ is worth paying *something* extra for, even if only a buck a month.

 

[NashGuy]

Likewise, I don't want to pay for Discovery+. I'm not old, but old enough to remember when Discovery wasn't trash.

Sure, there's plenty of TLC-style reality crap on there, but you might be surprised at some of the quality content that Discovery+ offers. There are the BBC nature docs and also some Science channel stuff. Some of the new D+ Originals are worthwhile docs or docuseries too.

Having had it free for a month awhile back, I probably won't even take up their offer to add it to HBO Max for an extra 99c/mo for up to 4 months. But if it got packaged into HBO Max, all ad-free, for an extra buck, I'd be happy with that.

The Great Rebundling is happening whether you want it or not. The economics of scale demand it. Disney+ will swallow Hulu and also end up with a bit of ESPN's most popular sports, such as Monday Night Football. And over the course of this decade, we're going to see *all* of the content on the various linear broadcast and cable channels become available at the same time inside their related direct-to-consumer apps.

By maybe 2026, buying The Max (or whatever they call HBO Max by then) will essentially just mean buying the entirety of WBD's TV content, you'll just be getting it directly from them rather than through a cable TV operator that commingles their content/channels along with content/channels from other companies too. Actually, by that point in time, it wouldn't surprise me if HBO reverts back to its roots and becomes an optional premium add-on to The Max's base tier. Imagine if today you could get the non-HBO part of HBO Max with ads for $5, then add the ad-free HBO content for an extra $5 (total of $10), then remove the ads from the non-HBO content for another $5 (total of $15).

 

[Yespage]

I think they have a base cost. It doesn't cost much money to distribute existing programming. So splitting the non-HBO programming from HBO doesn't make sense, as the HBO programming is what needs to get subsidized as they produce new content. The other content is bonus stuff they already own, so they provide as 'filler' or the main course for some.

 

[RedPenguin]

What I don't get is, if Discovery+ is "going away" so to speak, why did they even bother mid-May adding the $5/$7 tiers to The Roku Channel, especially after HBO yanked it's Hub there?

It just seems very confusing overall as I know internationally, Discovery+ is extremely popular by itself.

It it possible it's a situation like Disney+ and Hulu, where they keep swearing they are merging but nothing happens?

I wionder if it could just be a "series of hubs" like in HBOMAX it asks if you want to add Discovery and vice-versa.

 

[Bruce]

I wonder if it could just be a "series of hubs" like in HBOMAX it asks if you want to add Discovery and vice-versa.

I hope it is that, because I will say nope.