Big changes could happen at HBO Max after a merger with Discovery Plus

The HBO Max and Discovery Plus merger has changed the landscape of the entertainment division. The two streaming platforms have merged.

It has people inside the business confused and even uncertain about their future. The news outlet business is running news about this merger, with many claiming that this could lead to HBO Max not doing scripted shows anymore.

The coming together of two video viewing platforms may also come with a layoff for a considerable number. While there is no official word about it, the word on the grapevine states that around 70% of employees would be part of the layoff.

With the current situation, leadership change is also possible. It looks like anything with entertainment is going through a paradigm shift.

WWE, a sports entertainment company, has also released people in the past, and a leadership change took place recently. The bigger question remains if this leaves any void in the entertainment industry or the online video streaming platforms business.

Will people get deprived of content due to this change, or is this the start of something new? Let’s try to understand this situation with both possibilities where we get to analyze the business and user aspects in detail.

What could happen next for HBO Max following the Discovery merger?

The two businesses will take time until the summer of 2023 for a single platform. Also, HBO Max has faced technical glitches in the past, which hasn’t been the case with the streamlined performance of Discovery Plus.

With them being aware of the situation, the two businesses plan to come together to be supportive of each other and diminish any errors. The rollout in 2023 will be constructive as Warner Bros plans to cater to the Latin-American locations towards the fall of 2023, Europe in early 2024 and the Asia Pacific towards the end of 2024.

JB Perrette, CEO and president of global streaming and games for Warner Bros., spoke about this merger during the Q2 earnings call and seemed thrilled with the choices this union offers. The growth opportunity looks endless as the current base of 92.1 million looks to grow to 130 billion in 2025.

What does the end user and the employees get out of this? Viewers can expect a single platform instead of paying the separate charges for both platforms, which vary for the ad and non-ad sections.

As for employees, the layoff will take time because the teams need to be in place to provide seamless content access to its user base.

How do you feel about the HBO Max and Discovery Plus merger? Share your thoughts in the comments, below!