Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. will keep Discovery+ as its own streaming offering in addition to launching the upcoming combined HBO Max/Discovery+ platform, an individual with knowledge tells TheWrap.
This decision comes as Warner Bros. Discovery prepares to launch the yet-to-be-named combined product of Discovery+ and HBO Max later this year.
Rather than combining both streamers in their entirety, the new platform will feature HBO Max content and most Discovery+ content. Discovery+ will remain available as a stand-alone option at a lower price.
The media conglomerate plans to keep Discovery+ as its own streamer to avoid risking any of the app’s 20 million subscribers who may not care to pay a higher price to access that content.
Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week” and programs like Chip and Joana Gaines’s “Magnolia Network” will be some of the content available on both Discovery+ and the new combined platform.
Without ads, Discovery+ costs $6.99 a month, while the ad-supported version costs $4.99. Meanwhile, HBO Max costs $15.99 a month without ads and $9.99 with ads. The new streaming service will probably become more expensive than HBO Max.
Warner Bros. Discovery said that it’s looking to offer a variety of streaming options at different price points. For example, the company is also planning to launch a free ad-supported streaming service this year to reach broader audiences. The incoming free service will include streaming channels of programming, including library content from the Warner Bros. studio. It will also include shows that originally ran on HBO and Discovery outlets.
The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
