If you're a fan of factual entertainment streaming service Discovery Plus, you've probably known about the upcoming HBO Max merger — ever since Warner Bros. and Discovery joined forces, it was confirmed that the two company's streaming services would soon merge.
However a new report suggests that Warner Bros. Discovery might be halting these plans. According to the Wall Street Journal (opens in new tab), the company is pausing its plans to combine its two video-on-demand platforms. We've heard no official news on the streaming service merger since CEO David Zaslav announced it in mid-2022, other than information from reports like this.
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The report states that Discovery Plus will remain as a standalone streaming service to HBO Max, though some of its content may be released on the HBO platform as well as its own. There's no indication whether this would be a substantial amount of its library, or just select originals.
This is potentially good news to fans of reality shows and documentaries, which Discovery Plus specializes in — it costs just $4.99 for ad-enabled access to the platform, compared to $9.99 for HBO Max; for fans who don't want to watch ads, Discovery Plus' ad-free tier comes in at $6.99, while HBO Max's is $16.99.
According to the Wall Street Journal, some streaming fans feared HBO Max could get even more expensive if a full Discovery Plus merger happened, and the company didn't want to risk losing them. This will be good news for money-conscious subscribers all around, then.
On social media, responses are mixed as to the news. While many people are happy to see that they won't have to pay more money for videos they might not watch, there are also some fans who were looking forward to the increased library they'd get.
what a messFebruary 8, 2023
WBD and Twitter both contending for the prestigious “Just Winging It” awardFebruary 8, 2023
More are proposing different ways Warner Bros. Discovery could spin a merger, and lots of them make quite a bit of sense.
they could still make it one app but with different pricing tiers.... - cheap tier for discovery+ only- middle tier for hbomax- premium tier for everythingFebruary 8, 2023
Of course, this report isn't official confirmation of the news, as Warner Bros. Discovery has stayed quiet on its merger plans for many months now.
But as streaming fans look to save money in the face of price rises, more and more new services and fewer streaming deals to keep costs low, fans of reality TV could get one small saving grace in avoiding subscribing to a new HBO Max.
