HBO has seen a difficult period of cancellations and layoffs, but Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is still committed to generating quick money.
Deadline has reported that Warner Bros. Discovery is considering licencing HBO Original Series to Netflix. HBO’s seasoned leadership is rumoured to have opposed this decision, but it is seen as an essential step to improve the business’s financial performance.
On the other hand, it’s questionable whether or not this agreement will actually go through.
Issa Rae’s Insecure, which aired on HBO for five seasons until its finale in December 2021, is reportedly the programme at the centre of this proposed pact. It is possible that the agreement will also cover additional programmes.
Warner Bros. Discovery would still be able to air these shows on its own platform, Max, so this licencing agreement wouldn’t be exclusive.
It wouldn’t be the first time that a TV show or movie was made available on several streaming networks thanks to a possible streaming arrangement. Avatar: The Way of Water is currently available for streaming on Disney Plus and Max due to certain business agreements.
The first significant streaming deal for Warner Bros. Discovery would be made if this pact goes through, though, because it sold a number of cancelled episodes to free ad-supported television (FAST) networks like Roku and Tubi earlier this year.
The announcement follows the recent rebranding and launch of HBO Max as Max by Warner Bros. Discovery. With this rebranding, a new price tier for 4K video content was also added. There were hints that the rollout might have been hurried, which would have caused an embarrassing problem with the credits.
The mistake that WBD made in lumping together writers, directors, and other collaborators under the umbrella of “creators” caused it to offer an apology, naturally upsetting the WGA writers who were on strike.
