HBO has made a shocking move in the streaming world by possibly licensing some of its original work to Warner Bros. Discovery. According to Deadline, this news will signify the first in decade in which shows from HBO will be available on another U.S. streaming service.
The first of these HBO shows to be on the market is the comedy series Insecure created by Issa Rae (Little). The series had five seasons, and the show ended in December 2021. The show had also streamed on OWN, a Warner Bros. Discovery cable network, which itself was a rare action for an HBO show to be on regular cable. Other shows are being discussed. However, their names have yet to be revealed.
This form of action has been said to be a financial one, in which many at HBO were very much opposed to this decision; however, the “corporate financial consideration,” as Deadline puts it, “won out.” The ongoing plans for this strategy have not been decided. Hence the deal could very much fall through. However, regardless of whether or not it fails, or not it still is a huge shift in strategy in the field of streaming services and the premium pay field.
It has been said that the HBO shows will be given out on a non-exclusive basis. Hence the shows will still be able to stream on Max. David Zaslov, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO, said he is open-minded to letting go of being particular and giving license to content to raise the bottom line. Warner Bros. Discovery started distributing shows like Westworld onto free streaming platforms like Roku and Tubi earlier this year.
The most surprising aspect of this new movement by Warner Bros. Discovery is that they would allow some of its content to stream on Netflix, their biggest competition. This move could possibly give more exposure and grow their pool of audience. Any comments from either HBO/Warner Bros or Netflix have not been made.