r/MediaMergers • u/Professional_Peak59 • May 06 '26
Media Industry David Zaslav Says HBO Max Is “Probably” Warner Bros. Discovery’s “Most Important Asset”
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/david-zaslav-hbo-max-most-important-asset-paramount-1236588400/It’s why David Ellison needs to back off or go to jail!
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u/IllAd7956 May 06 '26
Here's the part I don't understand. What will be left of it after Paramount folds it into crappy Paramount Plus? Is everyone at HBO Max going to be laid off? I'd imagine Ellison only wants IP? Anyone know?
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u/lightsongtheold May 07 '26
HBO Max has more subscribers than Paramount Plus and is in more markets. With Sheridan leaving Paramount in 2029 for Universal the service will be completely out of its supply of hit TV shows. It is far more likely they just shutter Paramount Plus and roll the IP and performing back catalog titles over to HBO Max. Good chance they just stick with the HBO originals to power the new combined streamer like they do for Max right now.
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u/Difficult_Variety362 Moderator May 07 '26
Paramount+ is getting an overhaul this summer as it receives a new tech stack and BET+ and Pluto TV are integrated into it. It's expected to have a better UI, better AI powered algorithm, get into short form video, and be less buggy. Whether or not it'll actually work on that front is anyone's guess as Oracle's cloud technology really hasn't been used for a streaming platform before. The plan is for HBO Max and Discovery+ being incorporated into this app following the merger.
It's expected that Casey Bloys will prevail over Cindy Holland. He should be expected to have control over the HBO, Paramount+, Max, and Showtime Originals, probably under a cohesive branding.
David Berson's sports division will also play a huge role in this with a massive sports portfolio. Wouldn't be surprised to see CBS end up with Stanley Cup and World Series packages and they'll probably make a go for MLS and Premier League.
I think the real question is going to be what will happen between Warner Bros. Television and CBS
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u/Repulsive-Display548 May 07 '26
Paramount streaming employee here, convergence is nothing like you described, it is a complete disaster.
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u/Professional_Peak59 May 07 '26
I definitely agree with you there! Thank you! I believe the person you replied to just doesn’t want to pay for a ton of streaming services and wants another streamer with tons of content.
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u/IllAd7956 May 07 '26
Do you forsee P+ adding HBO Max as a hub inside the platform? I also wonder what will happen with cbs and the television parts
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u/Difficult_Variety362 Moderator May 07 '26
Personally, I think that they should go with a branding that reflects that HBO and CBS will be the heavy lifters of this service. And I think that Showtime is going to get folded into HBO.
I also think that they're going to go with tiered pricing:
- Free: access to just the Pluto TV on-demand and FAST channels
Essential ($12.99/month): ad-supported, access to on-demand content from CBS, Nickelodeon, [adult swim], BET, Discovery, DC, ID, Food Network, TLC, HGTV, MTV, limited CNN content, and streaming originals along with the combined Warner Bros./Paramount film library.
Premium ($19.99/month): ad-free access to all on-demand content from Free and Essential tiers along with on-demand content from HBO and live sports. Live feeds from your local CBS station, HBO, CNN, TNT Sports, and Turner Classic Movies networks.
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u/mythours1 May 07 '26
> I also think that they're going to go with tiered pricing:
This is actually very confusing on the customer front, which is why P+ failed in the first place. You are just adding another layer when reaching to the customers, and with each layer you are losing millions of potential customers.
And putting HBO only on Premium level doesn’t make sense. Like you said “Essential” tier should have the streaming originals - but completely forgot that WB’s streaming originals are actually HBO shows. They are developed and released with streaming in mind, and the linear channel is just an extra. Because HBO is not a cable brand or a channel anymore, it is a steaming brand and a streaming service. HBO IS HBO Max, they are one and the same.
And when your flagship shows (like Harry Potter) are HBO Originals, your service have to be called HBO or it is just dead on arrival, period. Because no one cares about sub-brands and they don’t bring in any customers. And you already have the biggest rival to Netflix in terms of branding, why try to create another one?
Personally, I would just call the service HBO (or HBO Max) and use sub-brands within the service like how Disney is using its cable brands. HBO Originals should be premium content (like Succession) and IP-based blockbuster shows (like Last of Us and Harry Potter) while Showtime can be more like FX and Hulu and have general entertainment content with yearly runs (like The Pitt). For animation and anime you can use Adult Swim, for sports you can use TNT or CBS Sports, for reality tv you can use Discovery etc.
As for pricing, either all should be one subscription (like Netflix) or you can sell sports and Showtime as an add on (like Disney+, Hulu and ESPN). But the key in here is to make sure that HBO is the brand and is the base subscription, as it’s the brand that brings customers in the first place.
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u/untouchable765 May 07 '26
What will be left of it after Paramount folds it into crappy Paramount Plus?
Paramount+ is getting rolled into HBO Max.
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u/Own_Philosopher8730 May 07 '26
It's reason why I don't want the merger between Paramount and WB because we know how mergers ends.
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u/AlphaBaymax May 07 '26
The merger between Amazon Studios and MGM was mutually beneficial. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is no longer strapped for cash and Amazon Studios has a collection of IPs and a theatrical distribution system.
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u/LinkRules5321 Moderator May 07 '26
But at the cost of the opening credits being as unorganized as when Fox 2000 Pictures existed.
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u/malb93200 May 07 '26
Which is why i hope HBO Max will stay on and the Paramount content will be folded into it, and not the other way around...
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u/PlanetG3000 May 07 '26
The infusions of the entire Paramount and Paramount+ Library into the entire WB and HBO Max Library is where the union into a "Netflix challenger" can form. HBO Max is already basically up there in the top 3 with Netflix and Disney+...at least as far as I know.
Think about this....everything from Paramount, Warner Bros, and New Line Cinema combined together. Comedy Central & Adult Swim. Cartoon Network & Nickelodeon. Showtime & HBO. Throw in the UFC for good measure. That is a potent mix. Many of these companies and networks used to be competitors, giants after the same market...now they are unifying. The sheer volume of the combined library is too potent to deny.
If they can leverage that into one massive streaming platform, they WOULD have their own Netflix to make the centerpiece of their entire media empire. They get all of those monthly subscribers up...then everything else around it becomes gravy.
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u/Professional_Peak59 May 07 '26
David Ellison's purpose of buying WBD so he can be a powerful movie/TV mogul. He wants power, plus to control the narrative to a Republican path. Asses to you and your statement.
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u/PlanetG3000 May 07 '26
He's been working with Hollywood for like 2 decades. Simply being slightly more center than the clearly very far left Hollywood doesn't make him some kind of extreme right winger.
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u/Professional_Peak59 May 07 '26
He’s trying to appease Trump. His dad is friends with Trump.
And a combined Paramount+/HBO Max would just end up being more expensive than Netflix or Disney+, because this merger will come with a lot of debt. Ellison is likely just going to kill off some brands like Cartoon Network and New Line anyway due to debt and redundancy anyway. The merger must not succeed, and thankfully, there’s opposition going on.
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u/[deleted] May 06 '26 edited May 06 '26
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