HBO Max Launches ‘Game of Thrones’ in 4K Ultra HD and Dolby Atmos

HBO Max is axing about 200 episodes of "Sesame Street" from its streaming platform. Warner Bros. Discovery recently became the new owners of HBO Max, which could tie into the reasoning behind the content purge.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorWarner Bros. Discovery is eager to lock in HBO Max customers on annual plans — even as the streamer is culling dozens of titles in a cost-cutting effort.On Thursday, HBO Max launched a new limited-time discount for new and returning customers, offering 30% off in the first year for users who prepay for a yearly subscription plan. Under the deal terms, you can sign up for the HBO Max no-ads yearly plan for $104.99 for the first year (versus $149.99 regularly) or the HBO Max with ads yearly plan for $69.99 for the first year (versus $99.99 regularly).

At the end of a day that saw about 70 (14%) staffers in his divisions getting laid off, Casey Bloys, Chief Content Officer for HBO & HBO Max, just sent an email to his team about the cuts as well as his new (old) senior HBO/Max scripted executive team of Amy Gravitt, Francesca Orsi and Sarah Aubrey which includes new responsibilities for Gravitt and Aubrey.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeAfter weeks of speculation, Warner Bros. Discovery is ready to reveal some of the changes that will take place at HBO Max, in advance of next year’s anticipated combination of the HBO Max and Discovery+ streaming services. And as expected, HBO Max will downsize its reality programming department.

The dreaded post-merger Warner Bros. Discovery layoffs have reached the programming operation overseen by HBO and HBO Max Chief Content Officer Casey Bloys.

It was announced last week that Warner Bros. Discovery would indeed be combining streaming services Discovery+ and HBO Max into a single app that will launch in the United States next summer.

After a few days of mass uncertainty, with folks on social media wondering what is going on at one of the biggest studios in Hollywood, Warner Bros. Discovery has shed some light on the company’s future.

HBO Max and Discovery+ will merge to become one streaming service next year.In a second quarter earnings call on Thursday (August 4), Warner Bros. Discovery’s CEO David Zaslav announced that the merged streamer will launch in the summer of 2023 in the US, with Latin America, Europe and other territories to follow soon after. The combined streaming service will be released with ad-free, ad-light and ad-only options.As reported by Entertainment Weekly, Zaslav addressed concerns that the merger would result in less emphasis on original programmes.

Warner Bros. Discovery is doubling down on HBO and HBO Max.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorWarner Bros. Discovery is not going to say how many HBO and HBO Max customers it has.In the second quarter, the media conglomerate said HBO Max, HBO and Discovery+ subscribers combined were 92.1 million, up about 1.6 million from 90.4 million the prior quarter. That’s up 22% 75.8 million on a pro-forma basis versus a year earlier.However, WBD’s streaming businesses lost subscribers domestically in Q2, dropping 300,000 — falling from 53.3 million in the first quarter to 53.0 million as of June 30.For Q1, AT&T — the prior owner of WarnerMedia and HBO Max — had reported 76.8 million total HBO and HBO Max subscribers worldwide, including 48.6 million domestically.

HBO and HBO Max have made several upsetting decisions this year, including canceling yet another TV show this week.

Zack Sharf James Gunn is assuring DC fans that “Peacemaker” Season 2 is in fine shape at HBO Max despite the recent news that Warner Bros.’ has killed “Batgirl” from being released either on the streamer or in theaters. “Peacemaker,” a spin-off of Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” starring John Cena in the title role, was a big hit for HBO Max when it debuted at the start of 2022. A second season was officially announced in February.“Is ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2 safe?” asked one fan on Twitter following the news of “Batgirl’s” demise.

There are some interesting, somewhat odd things happening over at Warner Bros. Discovery, huh? Obviously, we have yesterday’s news that “Batgirl” and the new “Scoob!” films are both being shelved even though they were seemingly close to being finished.

Six hit Warner Bros. movies were quietly removed from HBO Max and fans are not happy.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorWarner Bros. Discovery has been quietly culling content from HBO Max — including several Warner Bros.

Why did Warner Bros scrap Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt?

HBO and HBO Max have had a ton of programming changes this year so far, resulting in numerous renewals and a handful of cancellations, too.

Hey, Upper East Siders! Gossip Girl is coming back for a second season — and there may be another cameo from one of the original cast members.