HBO Max & Discovery+ Joint Platform to Launch Sooner Than Planned

Eve Vawter November 3, 2022, 6:35 pm

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Warner Bros. Discovery President and CEO David Zaslav announced on a November 3 earnings call that the launch date for HBO Max and Discovery+ has been moved up to spring of 2023.

The previous timeline for the launch of HBO Max and Discovery+ was next summer. According to Deadline, Zaslav said during the announcement that the company added nearly 3M global direct-to-consumer subscribers in its latest quarter. He then went on to say, “We expect a healthy inflection with the launch of our combined service and expanded global footprint.”

David Zaslav (Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

In August of this year, we reported that Discovery+ had removed 19 of its original shows in anticipation of the merger. A spokesperson for Discovery+ told TV Insider: “As we work toward bringing our content catalogs together under one platform, we will be making changes to the content offering available on both HBO Max and discovery+. That will include the removal of some content from both platforms,” a Warner Bros. Discovery spokesperson said. “At the same time, we’re already starting to bring our content catalogs together like the launch of the new CNN Originals Hub on discovery+ and a curated collection of Magnolia Network content coming soon to HBO Max.”

Thirty-six titles were removed from HBO Max, including 200 episodes of Sesame Street. With The Last Of Us coming to HBO in January of 2023, The Idol releasing sometime in 2023, and a new season of Succession returning in spring of 2023, subscribers to HBO Max have a lot to look forward to. Discovery+ will have returning favorites like the popular 90 Day Fiancé and the spinoff shows, and a slew of HGTV and reality TV programming.