Discovery+ Is Now Warner Bros. Discovery's Priority In Merger With HBO Max

Discovery+ users won’t experience much of a change during the upcoming combination of Discovery+ and HBO Max platforms. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Discovery+ streaming platform will stay as is at the same subscription cost in an attempt to hold onto the service’s 20 million subscribers. There will then be a separate streaming service, rumored to be called simply “Max,” that will feature all of HBO Max’s programming and most of Discovery+’s catalog including Shark Week programming and shows from the Magnolia Network, though it’s not yet clear what would be left behind. In theory, to truly get access to everything, users may still need subscriptions to both.

A source tells WSJ that Warner Bros. Discovery doesn’t want to lose Discovery+ subscribers who may not want to pay for a more expensive subscription. As of now, Discovery+ subscriptions cost $4.99/month for an ad-supported version and $6.99/month for an ad-free version. Starting on February 11, HBO Max prices will go up to $9.99/month for an ad-supported version and $15.99/month for an ad-free version. The cost for the forthcoming combined services will likely cost more than HBO Max, though the details have yet to be confirmed. That service is set to launch in spring.

What this means for HBO Max’s original content is still unclear, though the removal of more than 80 titles from the platform as of December combined with last month’s cancellation of the Gossip Girl reboot signals that the streamer’s library will stay lean. And with the latest news about the separate streaming service, Warner Bros. Discovery is proving that keeping Discovery+ users happy is top priority, in part because the platform is profitable with low operating costs.

HBO Max did not respond to comment about what this merger means for its original content. The company only emphasizes that this new format still includes HBO Max — the streaming service is not going away. Warner Bros. Discovery is launching its own FAST (free ad-supported streaming) channel later this year that will host a combination of content from the Warner Bros. studio, HBO, and Discovery. The company has already sold the rights to previously pulled HBO Max originals like Westworld, The Nevers, Raised by Wolves, FBoy Island, Legendary, Finding Magic Mike, Head of the Class, and The Time Traveler’s Wife to third party FAST streamers like Roku and Tubi, both of which have been ramping their own original content over the past year. There’s a chance that discarded HBO Max projects could find new life at one of those channels as Warner Bros. Discovery stays focused on Discovery+.

Brianna Wellen is a TV Reporter at Primetimer who became obsessed with television when her parents let her stay up late to watch E.R.