According to a report by Deadline, Warner Bros. Discovery will be discontinuing its HBO Family, ThrillerMax, MovieMax, and OuterMax. This follows a continuing trend for linear media, as their revenue streams are now increasingly shifting to streaming platforms.

Deadline claims that Charter Spectrum sent automated messages to its customers to alert them of the upcoming change. “At Spectrum, we are committed to providing you with exceptional service and want to alert you of changes before they happen,” the message says. “Effective on or after August 15, 2025, HBO Family, ThrillerMax, MovieMax, & OuterMax will cease programming and will no longer be available.”

Deadline also mentions that HBO Family is a spin-off from HBO that focuses on family-friendly content. It currently runs shows like 100-Foot Wave and movies like Wonka, The LEGO Batman Movie, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Now that Cable TV is deteriorating, many of the spinoffs are the first to go. Even some of the base networks themselves are in trouble as Starz is reportedly seeing only 30 percent of its subscribers on linear.

Forbes reports on the recent decline in traditional media viewership. They report that in 2022, traditional pay TV distributors had 4.9 million cancellations. Adding to the loss, the amount reached 5.4 million the next year. They report that currently, as little a 50 percent of all television households nationwide have paid cable.

Forbes reports David Zaslav, CEO and president of Warner Bros. Discovery, as claiming that “even two years ago, market valuations and prevailing conditions for legacy media companies were quite different than they are today.” It seems that the rapid decline of cable TV is not slowing anytime soon.

Although Deadline confirms there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. They quote a long-time industry analyst, Craig Moffett, as claiming that even as viewership levels fall to that of the 80s, they may have finally hit rock bottom.