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Change; it isn’t always pretty.
When Discovery went full-on Daddy Warbucks and bought out and merged with Warner Bros. (after an earlier acquisition by AT&T), Hollywood pundits waited with baited breath to see what the fall out would look like in a brave, new world where Warner Bros. Discovery (que trumpets) ruled the proverbial roost. In the short time since then, some of the changes have been slight enough to almost escape detection while others – Let’s just say that some alterations to the business plans of certain subsidiaries to Warner Bros. Discovery are more obvious than others…
According to our Miles Drentell followers over at The Hollywood Reporter, HBO Max – one of those pesky aforementioned subsidiaries of Warner Bros. Discovery – has opted to cease original programming in parts of Europe. So if you hang your dusty fedora in the Nordics, the Netherlands, Central Europe and Turkey and you’ve feverishly been following your local HBO Max programing over the last number of months…then today really is not your day.
As with most big corporate takeovers and the like, one of the first orders of business for the new Big Wheels in charge is to look at the spending and determine what is expendable and can be thrown over the side and what can continue on. With HBO Max, it was ultimately decided that certain avenues the streaming behemoth was pursuing – such as original programing in certain European markets – just wasn’t profitable enough to continue on with. To further clarify that Business 101 approach, here’s the freshly minted new overseers themselves to explain matters to you, Dear and Constant Reader.
“As we continue to work on combining HBO Max and Discovery+ into one global streaming service showcasing the breadth of content across Warner Bros. Discovery, we are reviewing our current content proposition on the existing service,” Warner Bros. Discovery said in a statement this morning. “As part of this process, we have decided to remove a limited amount of original programming efforts for HBO Max in the Nordics and Central Europe.”
According to sources, France and Spain have been spared the wraith of this latest corporate merger apparently, and are free to revel in their own HBO Max local goodies. Also not affected by this shuffling and cancelation are the legacy Discovery business or those networks from discovery which are considered free-to-air networks.
Keep those peepers peeled to Vents for any and all new updates on the Warner Bros. Discovery merger and the inevitable fallout – And let’s end this on a happy note: Happy Fourth of July!
