Warner Bros. Discovery is reportedly nixing plans to combine HBO Max and Discovery Plus into a single streaming service, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. Last August, the media giant announced that it expected to roll out a merged streaming app by summer 2023. However, it seems the company may be reversing course.
HBO Max, known for its large catalog of films and scripted TV programming, carries some unscripted content. The service costs $10 a month for a basic subscription and recently increased its premium, ad-free plan to $16. Discovery Plus, which starts at $5 per month, offers a variety of documentaries and mostly reality-centric television. Viewers can watch content from TLC, Animal Planet, Food Network, HGTV and more. After Warner completed its merger with Discovery in April 2022, CEO David Zaslav outlined plans for both streaming brands. In September, WBD began adding content from Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network to HBO Max, signaling that change was afoot.
Discovery titles will continue to be added to a revamped, newer version of the HBO Max app, per the WSJ, but Discovery Plus will remain a standalone option. The idea is to retain the latter’s customer base who may not be willing to pay more for the more expensive HBO Max.
Warner Bros. Discovery did not immediately respond to CNET’s request for comment.