HBO Max and Discovery Plus merge into a single streaming platform

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It’s official, HBOMax and Discovery+ They have come together on a single platform to give more content to their subscribers and give competition to other streaming services such as Netflix and Disney +, which includes sports channels and documentaries.

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During the past 30th Annual Conference of Media, Internet and Telecommunications of Deutsche Bank, Gunnar Wiedenfels, Chief Financial Officer of Discoveryannounced to the news that it has already gone around the world.

“Discovery is preparing to combine the two broadcasters … the company reveals its post-merger strategy for Discovery Plus and HBO Max,” Wiedenfels noted, according to the magazine. Variety.

The merger of both platforms can be seen in the near future, as customers will be able to see a more extensive catalog of options streaming. And probably also an increase in the monthly payment.

“In the meantime we will start working on an interim solution. So from the beginning we are working to prepare the grouping approachmaybe a single sign-on, maybe embedding content in the other product, etc,” said the entrepreneur.

According to a spokesperson for the Warner Media-owned company, “HBO Max, with a more premium male bias positioningand then you have the female positioning on the Discovery side”, so with this addition they would be covering the tastes of the entire public.

On the other hand, HBO Max has been working on expanding its catalog through the broadcast of live sportsbecause they want the platform to offer all kinds of entertainment.

Although there is still no date for the additions, they are expected to occur throughout 2022 and a maximum of 2023. It is also not known if the cost of the subscription will increase when the merger occurs and more content is added, although it is most likely that it will. be.

HBO ended the year with 73.8 million subscribers to its streaming service and its homonymous cable network, compared to 69.4 million in September. This advance, along with the addition of almost 900,000 monthly paying telephone subscribers.

The stakes of this year, perhaps decisive in the return to normality, are high. Disney announced $33,000 in content investments, that’s $8,000 more on a year-over-year basis, and much of that will go to Disney+ and ESPN+ and the Hulu deals. If that artistic and sports offer attracts the public so that Disney + reaches 230-260 million subscribers in 2024, the venture would already be profitable then.

Hit shows like WandaVision and The Mandalorian they follow film sagas and have been oriented to families. But Bob Chapek, CEO of Disney+, is convinced that the platform has “room to increase its base” of subscribers with more general entertainment, in the style of black ishwithout neglecting titles such as Obi-Wan Kenobi, which will be released on May 25. “We bet on our content, not only in terms of quantity, but also quality,” he added.

Finally, the strategies are also flexible. Movies like Charmwhose great impact in theaters was less than expected, instead exceeded expectations in Disney + (in addition to breaking records in the rankings of Billboard with its soundtrack). “We don’t believe that theaters are the only way to build the Disney franchise,” Chapek stressed, an indication that successes on the platform could define the creative ideas of the future.