Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Drops After Max Presentation

EXCLUSIVE: Canada’s Crave has struck a multi-year licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) for the likes of Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, the DC Universe and HBO content.

EXCLUSIVE: Zoey Deutch is set to co-star in the Warner Bros. and Clint Eastwood pic Juror #2 starring Nicholas Hoult and Toni Collette. Jonathan Abrams penned the script. Adam Goodman, Matt Skiena, Tim Moore and Jessica Meier will produce.

Warner Bros Discovery has signed a multi-year licensing deal with Viacom18 under which its JioCinema service will become the new streaming home of HBO, Max Original and Warner Bros content in India starting next month. 

Max streaming service, David Zaslav and Warner Bros. embraced theatrical as they showed off their upcoming 2023 slate at CinemaCon in Las Vegas.Zaslav made his debut at the movie theater trade show on Tuesday with a lengthy speech that earned plenty of applause from cinema execs, especially when he reaffirmed his company’s plans to never go back to the day-and-date releasing model that his predecessor, Jason Kilar, rolled out for all of Warner’s theatrical releases in 2021. “We believe in full theatrical windows, we don’t believe in direct to streaming.

It really does feel like a lifetime ago when Warner Bros. defiantly said, during the beginning of the pandemic, that every film released in 2021 was going to hit theaters and streaming on the same day.

Fox, Comcast and Warner Bros Discovery shares each took a dip Monday after the media companies took turns generating industry-shaking headlines over less than 24 hours.

EXCLUSIVE: Deadline has learned that Warner Bros Discovery CEO and President, David Zaslav, will be teeing off Warner Bros studio presentation at CinemaCon on Tuesday AM, April 25.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Paramount Global fired back on Wednesday in the battle over “South Park” streaming rights, accusing Warner Bros. Discovery of withholding $52 million in license fees. Warner Bros. Discovery sued Paramount in February, alleging that the company had breached its $500 million licensing deal with HBO Max by diverting “South Park” specials to Paramount+. On Wednesday, Paramount filed a counterclaim, alleging that HBO Max got everything it bargained for under the agreement, but has nevertheless withheld two required payments of $26 million apiece. The countersuit, filed in New York Supreme Court, also argues that the unpaid fees cover the 300-plus episodes of “South Park” now streaming on HBO Max, which are not in dispute in the lawsuit.

EXCLUSIVE: Harry Gamsu is heading back to Warner Bros. Discovery.

The last time the parent company of Warner Bros and HBO promoted the launch of a streaming service, it faced the once-a-century challenge of the coronavirus pandemic.

John Oliver greeted the Last Week Tonight viewers by taking a swing at “business daddy” Warner Bros. Discovery after announcing the rebranding of HBO Max to Max.

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO and President David Zaslav, just a day after revealing details of the new combined streaming service Max, joined industry titans Steven Spielberg and Paul Thomas Anderson to tout another area close to the heart of the studio he now heads: the importance of restoring and preserving Warner Bros.’ rich legacy of film classics, especially as it heads into its 100th anniversary year. Appearing on stage at the opening night of the 14th TCM Classic Film Festival with Spielberg and Anderson in a conversation moderated by TCM host Ben Mankiewicz, Zaslav — who previously stated his belief in the theatrical experience and a return to that after 2021’s much-derided day-and-date release model under past CEO Jason Kilar — made it clear that the studio’s commitment to the preservation and well-being of the studio’s rich library will be a priority in his administration. (Turner Classic Movies is a cable channel under the WBD umbrella.)

Warner Bros. Discovery disappointed the children’s TV industry last year when it pulled a number of shows from HBO Max, signaling an exit from this part of the business.

Although an introductory video at Wednesday’s Warner Bros Discovery streaming event included clips of NBA star LeBron James and CNN host Anderson Cooper, the rest of the presentation was strikingly sports- and news-free.

It’s a good move. The “HBO” brand is associated with some of the worst content ever: Sopranos, The Wire, Band of Brothers, Game of Thrones, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Veep, Deadwood and Silicon Valley.Good riddance.

separate, lower-priced service. The company also plans to launch a free, ad-supported streaming service this year.

“The Big Bang Theory” is approved for additional funding.

“This is our time. This is our chance,” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said today in his livestream intro for the company’s unveiling of Max, its rebranded streaming service that goes live May 23. “This is our rendezvous with destiny.”

As rival motion picture studios were becoming intoxicated on theatrical day-and-date releases tied to their streaming platforms during Covid, and big streamers like Netflix completely sidestepping wide theatrical releases, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav believed in the economics of the big picture.

Warner Bros. Discovery unveiled three tiers for its new Max service today. The pricing keeps Max in line with HBO Max, and at the top end of the entertainment streaming spectrum. A price hike several months ago by HBO Max made it the most expensive service among major streamers, and the new set of plans will keep it just ahead of Netflix’s most popular U.S. plan, which now costst $15.49 a month.