Warner Brothers Discovery Is Here...What Does It Mean?

Warner Brother Discovery Is Here...Now What?

April 12, 2022

April 5, 2022

Well, it's official. Warner Media and Discovery have merged into one. When it comes to relationships, the tongue-in-cheek saying is that it's "not official until it's Facebook official". With publically-traded companies that merge, it's not official until it's stock market official. So now that $WMD is trading on the market and the merger is official, what should cord-cutters expect from the combo? 

Three Things to Watch for this Year with Warner Media Discovery

Both Warner Brothers and Discovery have a plethora of unique, popular content. What's more interesting, however, is that their content directions have never been the same. Ultimately, this means the Warner Brothers Discovery merger has created one of the most eclectic and wide-reaching content libraries to date. Therein lies one of the common predictions: content libraries. At present, the Warner Brothers and Discovery libraries are still separated; you can't access both at one price. That's going to change soon.

1. Merging Services

This is no so much a prediction but a reiteration of something that's already been discussed, even by Warner Brothers Discovery. The merger of these two companies' streaming services is inbound. For Discovery, its recently-launched Discovery+ service provides a ton of on-demand content across multiple entertainment-based TV networks, including The Food Network, History Channel, HGTV, Travel Channel, Science Channel, and Discovery Channel, among many others. For Warner Brothers, HBO Max is the highlight of its streaming portfolio. 

Ultimately, yes, the company is going to merge these two services into one.

2. Pricing

Here's the biggest question mark around the Warner Brothers Discovery streaming service merger. What price will it be? HBO Max starts at $14.99 per month. Discovery+ starts at $4.99 per month. Those are vastly different prices. But we're also not likely to see just a straight combination of the two prices with a $20/month price tag without some wiggle room. That would be a bit too unpalatable for most subscribers.

Warner Brothers Discovery will likely combine them at around $18 per month. Don't be surprised to see a lower-cost "with ads" tier. If the company is smart, though, they'll do what Hulu has done with its Hulu + Live TV merger: subtly still offer the services separately at their base prices, while significantly pushing the higher-priced combination options.

3. Content Availability 

Here is the biggest questions mark and the area where non-subscribers should be concerned. Both Discovery's content and Warner Media's content are popular. That content can generally be found streaming outside these services, especially for Discovery, since its networks are cable channels. But will Warner Media Discovery further restrict licensing agreements? It may go full-on Netflix and never license any of its content outside its own service. That would be a major hit to non-subscribers everywhere.

This Week's Streaming Guide

1. Netflix Takes on Prisons Once Again with 'Hard Cell'

New Netflix mocumentary series 'Hard Cell' follows events planner-turned-women’s prison governor Laura Willis as she explores life behind bars. Available on Netflix today (April 12). -

  2. PBS Documentary Explores the Making of Nazi Dictators 

Watch 'Rise of the Nazis: Dictators at War' today (April 12) on PBS at 9 PM EST. -

  3. America's Moonshine Spirit Lives on Discovery Channel 

More moonshining is on the way with the new series 'Moonshiners: American Spirit' on Discovery Channel streaming this Wednesday (April 13) at 8 PM EST.- 

4. New Sci-Fi Mystery Series 'Outer Range' Hits Prime Video

A rancher fighting for his land and family discovers an unfathomable mystery at the edge of Wyoming's wilderness. Stream in Prime Video this Friday (April 15). -

News and Industry Developments

1. Will Warner Hike HBO Max Prices?

Chances are good a price hike is coming. -

2. 71% of Amazon Prime Members Watch Prime Video

It's clear Prime Video is a large selling point for Amazon Prime subscribers. -

3. ICYMI: Peacock Now Home of Sunday Morning Baseball

Thanks to an exclusive deal, Peacock is the home of Sunday morning MLB games. -

4. Disney+ Fixes 'Accidental' Censoring

After adding censored scenes to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Disney+ has removed the censored scenes, claiming they were edited "accidentally". -

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