Warner Bros. Discovery is nixing plans to get rid of Discovery Plus, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. Rather than merging the streaming service completely with HBO Max to create a unified platform, Discovery titles will simply be added to HBO Max. Discovery Plus will keep running. Last August, the media giant announced that it expected to roll out a single, merged streaming app by summer 2023. However, it seems the company is reversing course.
HBO Max, known for its large catalog of films and scripted TV programming, carries some unscripted content. The service costs $10 a month for a basic subscription and recently increased its premium, ad-free plan to $16. Discovery Plus, which starts at $5 per month, offers a variety of documentaries and mostly reality-centric television. Viewers can watch content from TLC, Animal Planet, Food Network, HGTV and more.
After Warner completed its merger with Discovery in April, CEO David Zaslav outlined plans for both streaming brands. In September, WBD began adding content from Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network to HBO Max, signaling that change was afoot.
Discovery content will continue to be added to a revamped, expanded version of the HBO Max app, but Discovery Plus will remain a standalone, lower-priced option. The idea is to retain the latter’s customer base who may not be willing to pay more for the more expensive HBO Max.
