David Zaslav has been unafraid to reshape Warner Bros. Discovery with an eye on the bottom line since the merger closed in April, but the chief executive’s latest move to rekindle the distribution agreement between HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video could put a ceiling on the company’s growth, experts told TheWrap.
Warner Bros. Discovery and Amazon could reach a deal to reincorporate HBO Max into the latter’s Prime Video Channels offerings later this year, according to Bloomberg. Yet such a move would sacrifice long-term vision and competitive dynamics for a short-term gain.
“Warner Bros. Discovery may be making one of the worst decisions to try and answer the market’s questions,” Andrew Rosen, former Viacom digital media executive and founder of streaming newsletter PARQOR, told TheWrap.