Entertainment company Warner Bros. Discovery is merging its two streaming services HBO Max and Discovery+. The merger company, which was created by merging the entertainment branch of AT&T and media company Discovery Networks, wants to do this in the United States next summer. Then other countries will follow. At the same time, the company is thinking of a free version of its streaming service with advertisements, just like its peer Netflix.
By our news editorsBefore the merger of the two services is complete, both services will show shared content from the other service, said JB Perrette, director of the streaming arm of Warner Bros. Discovery.
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These services will also generate less and less loss after this year. In 2025, Perrette expects an operating profit of 1 billion dollars (converted 976 million euros) worldwide. Then the entertainment company also wants to have 130 million subscribers to its streaming services.
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Now there are 92.1 million subscribers. But that also includes customers who, for example, purchase HBO’s payment channels. The merged company announced that it added 1.7 million subscribers in the past quarter according to the new method. With movies like The Batman and series like The Flight Attendant and Barry, HBO attracted viewers, while Discovery did good business with TLC series 90 Day Fiancé.
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Despite its focus on streaming, the media company also continues to plan to bring films to the cinema. New CEO David Zaslav said he “has a different take” on letting movies debut on streaming services. HBO Max did that during the corona pandemic, partly to attract extra subscribers.
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Zaslav made it clear earlier this week that Warner Bros. Discovery sets a new course. For example, he pulled the plug on the film Batgirl, which was already fully shot. Some other planned films are also canceled.
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The combined company’s turnover amounted to 9.8 billion dollars, which is approximately 9.6 billion euros. Compared to the divisions of AT&T and Discovery Networks that now make up the new company, that was a 1 percent year-over-year decline.
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Warner Bros. Discovery lost $3.4 billion in the second quarter. That was due to billions in one-time costs. Of this, 2 billion dollars consisted of amortization of, for example, trademark rights. In addition, the company incurred $1 billion in restructuring costs and nearly $1 billion in merging the two companies into a new venture.
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