Here’s why HBO Max is pulling dozens of movies and TV series

Discover Warner Bros.HBO Max is removing 36 movies and TV series from its platform. There are three main reasons why this happens.

The films and series — which include 20 original HBO Max shows such as teen drama “Generation” and “Sesame Street” spin-off “The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo” — will be removed by the end of Friday. The decision comes ahead of Warner Bros. plans. Discovery to combine Discovery + with HBO Max into a new service It will launch in the US in mid-2023.

“As we work to bring our content catalogs onto one platform, we will be making changes to the content available on both HBO Max and Discovery +. This will include removing some content from both platforms,” ​​a spokesperson for HBO Max said in a statement. statement.

It might seem strange for HBO Max to remove series created specifically for the platform — streaming services are full of little-watched shows and movies. But for Warner Bros. Discovery, there are three main drivers behind the cuts: cutting costs, moving away from content geared toward children and families, and deregulating the service.

Although HBO Max has already paid to produce these shows, it is still in a bind for hangovers, including so-called back payments to actors, crew, and writers, based on long-term viewership metrics.

By removing these movies and shows, especially those created by HBO Max instead of licensing them, executives can cut expenses immediately. Discover Warner Bros. Promised at least $3 billion in Synergy resulting from the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, announced in May.

Deleting the content in aggregate would save “tens of millions of dollars,” according to two people familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity because finances are private.

The logic is not the same Why was the superhero movie ‘Batgirl’ canceled? advance this month. This decision benefited from a Merger tax advantage to change strategy That allowed to write off unfinished projects. HBO Max shows have already launched and been in service, so they are not applying for this feature.

Most of what HBO Max offers is either reality TV or kids and family content. (A full list of deleted content is at the end of this story.)

HBO Max will get its own unregistered content from Discovery, which will add its nearly entire catalog of reality TV, including from HGTV, Food Network and Animal Plant, to the joint service next year. HBO Max It laid off 14% of its employees earlier this weekincluding many of its unstudied division.

Staying away from kids and family content is new. HBO Max executives decided that viewers simply wouldn’t go to the service to watch children’s programming. Even “Sesame Street” who HBO Max was acquired in 2019 in a five-year dealDon’t pull strong numbers, according to people familiar with the matter. And people said it resulted in “The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo” being removed.

HBO specializes in adult-themed content that skews toward a male audience. Discovery specializes in adult-related reality content that is viewed by more women. Although bundled services affect the demographics of both genders, they are not targeted at children. Rather than adding more content to fill this niche, Warner Bros. Discovery is moving away from the category with its future investment budget, People said.

Flowing executives across the industry often talk about Netflix Having a “discover” problem. They say that Netflix has a lot of content, and it is difficult to search for the best of its content. While Netflix tries to mitigate this with algorithms and top 10 lists, the service has hundreds of shows that get lost in the shuffle because there is so much content in the search process.

According to people familiar with the matter, not everything pulled from “HBO Max” has been repeatedly watched.

With the upcoming addition of Discovery+ content, Warner Bros. executives are feeling… Discovery that HBO Max may get involved in little-watched movies and shows. That could hook viewers on the service with a lot of things they don’t want to watch — a “Netflix problem,” said one HBO Max executive, who asked not to be named because the decision is private.

Traditional Pay TV has also suffered from this problem. The cost of cable TV has ballooned, averaging around $100 per month, as more and more underserved cable networks have been added over the years. The result is that customers were Cable TV refused in droves.

This risk of having too much content is one reason Disney Historically, it has kept Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu separate. Disney executives have long felt consumers would pay a lower price for a more tailored experience.

Warner Bros. CEO may wish. Discovery, David Zaslav, in raising the price of the joint HBO Max-Discovery+ show, especially with competitors Disney and Netflix Prices raised recently. Getting rid of less watched content, while adding a ton of new Discovery+ content, can help justify the increase.

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HBO Max has announced that the following series will be removed this week:

12 birthday dates

about last night

Aquaman: King of Atlantis

close enough

arrest adventure

Dudu

Eileen’s Next Great Designer

Elliot from Earth

My name and Roy

fungi!

hustle generation

generic + ion

infinity train

Little Elaine

Mao Mao, heroes of a pure heart

Messy goes to Okido

Magic Mia Stadium

Mighty Magiswords

My dinner with Herve

Mom, your dad

udo

Well ko! – Let’s be heroes

Oli and Moon Gallery

Pac-Man and Ghost Adventures

The Pursuit of Happiness by Ravi Patel

Select Sesame Street Specials

Make it big, make it small

Involved

Isaac

summer camp island

The Unlimited Show with Elmo

fugitive bunny – special

Theodosia

Tig n’ Seek

Grandpa’s uncle

Victor and Valentino

Dinosaur Yaba Dibba

Watch: Warner Bros. CEO. Discovery David Zaslav talks to CNBC about his strategy