After the business merger, comes the content merger.
Warnes Bros. Discovery, the company resulting from the merger of Warner Media with Discovery Inc, announced this Thursday at a conference with analysts its new streaming television strategy.
The main announcement is the merger of HBO Max and Discovery + in a single on-demand television platform.
In addition, the company has indicated that it is considering launching a free limited version of its service financed with advertising in the future.
Warner also changes its strategy in production and will stop making films intended only for the platform.
Ever since Warner Media spun off from AT&T and merged with Discovery, speculation about the future of its platforms hasn't stopped.
The company had already given indications that it planned to merge its offer and thus achieve savings at a difficult time for streaming television services, which have lost users after the rise of the pandemic and are experiencing fierce competition that makes costs more expensive and makes it difficult to raise prices.
This Thursday, the main managers of the new company have put some cards on the table.
In a conference with analysts and investors that lasted just over an hour and a half, the CEO of the company, David Zaslav, and the head of the streaming business, JB Perrette, announced that HBO Max and Discovery Plus will join in a single platform with a "single global brand", whose name they have not revealed.
Does that mean the disappearance of the HBO brand, which has produced some of the most legendary series on pay television, such as
Game of Thrones
or
The Wire?
Among financial analysts there are also fans of the series and the question could not be left out.
Both Zaslav and Perrette have avoided giving a direct answer ("we are looking at it and we will continue to look at it"), but have hinted that the brand, one way or another, will survive ("it is one of the jewels in the crown of the company").
In developing their response, the directors have indicated that they are studying how consumers perceive the brand and have dropped what the final solution may be by indicating that "there is a difference between what the service is eventually called", the platform, and the role that plays the HBO brand as such.
"We will keep you informed when we make the final decision," they concluded laconically.
Previously, Perrette had explained the planned schedule for the implementation of the new merged platform.
Its launch will be in the United States in the summer of 2023, then throughout Latin America in the fall of that same year.
Europe will follow in early 2024 and then the rest throughout that year.
The goal is to reach 130 million subscribers worldwide in 2025. Currently, the group has 92 million subscribers, far from Netflix's 220 million.
The directors of the company have said that the user experience and quality will be the priorities of the new service.
Technologically, the goal is for a joint platform to incorporate the best of each of the current two.
"Efficient, scalable, resilient" are some of the adjectives used by managers, who have also emphasized that it be flexible to allow the incorporation of the offer of other partners and allies, the combination of direct with on-demand television and different models of advertising exploitation.
Initially, the company will focus on developing an ad-free or ad-light model, but the company is opening the door to a free version with a limited catalog that earns its revenue from ads alone and serves as a gateway to ad-free versions. payment.
In any case, that project is still very green and Perrette has referred to the Investor Day scheduled for the end of the year for more details.
As for content, there have been no details.
The general message is that investment in own production will be relevant, but at a more moderate rate than the current one.
A 10-year plan for the DC Universe
The other hot potato of the conference with analysts was the cancellation of the premiere of
Batgirl,
the film that has cost 90 million dollars and that the company has decided not to release in theaters or on HBO Max.
DC characters are one of the great assets of the company's catalog and the decision has caused concern in some investors.
The CEO has avoided giving specific explanations about the cancellation of the premiere, but has hinted that it did not meet the quality standards required for the franchise.
“The goal is to grow the DC brand.
Grow DC characters.
But also, our job is to protect the DC brand and that's what we're going to do."
And at another point in the conference, without expressly citing
Batgirl,
he said: "We're not going to release a movie unless we believe in it."
Frame of Leslie Grace in the role of 'Batgirl', the film that Warner has given up releasing.
Zaslav has shown his confidence in the other three planned DC releases
(Black Adam, Shazam
and
The Flash)
and has announced a long-term plan for the brand's characters.
“When we look at the opportunities we have, DC is at the top of the list.
If we look at Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman or Aquaman, they are well-known brands all over the world.
And the ability to push them around the world with a great story is a great opportunity for us.
We have done a reset.
We have restructured the business, and we are going to focus on it, there will be a team with a 10-year plan just for DC.
We believe that we can build a much stronger and more sustainable long-term business from DC.
And as part of that, we're going to focus on quality.
We are not going to release any film before it is ready to meet a quarter, ”he added.
The executive has openly acknowledged that he wants to emulate Disney's success with Marvel and that they aspire to a "very similar" model with their own characters.
The big premieres, for the cinemas
In connection with that, Zaslav has announced a change of strategy.
No more big blockbusters to be released directly on streaming.
The manager explained that after analyzing the data on how they are consumed, how many customers buy them or sign up for the service to see them, there is no color compared to the impact of theatrical releases.
The direct release of expensive films on platforms makes no sense or economic value, he assured.
The exclusive window of exploitation in theaters has been shortened and some films are released on platforms only a few weeks after the big screen.
Zaslav is willing to shorten deadlines, but not to skip rooms.
"The economic model is much stronger," he said, reversing a recent trend that was partly fueled by the pandemic.
This same Thursday, Paramount boasted of the wisdom of having delayed premieres due to the pandemic, such as
Top Gun Maverick,
until they could be shown in theaters.
Zaslav is also clear: “We will focus on cinema, and when we bring theatrical films to HBO Max, we find that they have a substantially higher value.
That's why most people move to Hollywood.
That's why most people got into this business: to be on the big screen when the lights go out.
That is the magic.”