According to Comic Book, Warner Bros. Discovery will hold press conference on April 12 to discuss the upcoming HBO Max and Discovery+ combined streaming platform. The service, which will reportedly be called Max, previously had a release date for the summer but the company CEO, David Zaslav, seems to have moved up the launch.
The event will be taking place at 1 p.m. Eastern time through a video webcast meant for investors and the public audience. The event will be accessible through the Warner Bros. Discovery website and is expected to provide more details on a launch date and a definitive name. The prices for the service have already been announced, which will be the same prices as HBO Max — $10 per month for access to the platform with ads and $16 per month for no ads. There is talk about a third plan as well, priced at $20 for higher quality, among other benefits. It has also been revealed that despite the merger, Discovery+ will remain independent and brings a multitude of titles to the media service, while HBO Max has been removing several films and television shows.
Zaslav made a statement in a company meeting: “We’re excited about the fact that we’re going to take all of the Discovery content and put it together with the HBO Max content in a much better platform. But the key to this company is, as a storytelling company, we have this diversity… We have the ability to pick from all of these different baskets to build really what may be most important for us, which is a successful and profitable streaming business. That HBO Max, whatever we call it on the launch, is a product that we take around the world and that has a real impact on how people consume content. We believe in it because we believe we have the best menu of content, the best portfolio, the best quality. And we’re curating now in a way that’s having an impact on America.”
Additionally, he said, “And so I think that is key to us in terms of building the long-term strength. But the other key is that we have the largest TV and motion picture library and we’re the biggest producer of quality content in the world. And so selling that to drive free cash flow and to nourish the overall segment, so that we, as a media segment, can be successful is important.”