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<p>Warner Bros. and Discovery have merged into one lump of a media company. The big news that has come along with the decision is to <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/warner-bros-discovery-details-new-streaming-plans-hbo-max-1235192892/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">merge HBO Max into Discovery+</a>. The new service aims to capture large groups of viewers with programming spanning all genres. The service will be broken into tiers, two of which include ads. This merge spells out serious trouble for quality content and will likely lead to an influx of sub-par unscripted media. The end result being another streaming service with a massive library of nothing worth watching.</p>

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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Quality First</h2>


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<p>The biggest thing I fear from this merge is a drop in quality. HBO Max's scripted content has been <a href="https://www.cbr.com/report-hbo-max-faces-scripted-content-gutting-staff-reduction/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">slashed brutally</a> with a push towards unscripted. Whichever someone prefers it's concerning that one is get cut down so much to prop up the other. They say they want to provide content for all but clearly folks who want scripted content are being left out to dry. If you don't enjoy unscripted content, anything in that vein will not be seen as quality. If over 2/3 of the new stuff that enters the platform is seen as poor-quality by the viewer, I can't imagine they'll stick around long.</p>


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Choice Begone</h2>


<p>With HBO Max, there was finally a streaming service with a large catalog of quality scripted content. It was a lot like Netflix in the early days when they were able to scoop up content licensing left and right. Before its emergence, it seems folks would have to straddle at least two services to cover their bases. With HBO Max, there was now an option that could very well be a replacement for both. At the very least it could replace one of them. The service also allowed folks to bypass expensive cable plans which would be needed to even think about getting the premium channel. The merger has destroyed this avenue and if you want HBO only, you're back to dealing with cable. Technically if both the libraries were merged it would be a pretty good treasure trove. Unfortunately HBO Max has been <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2022/08/hbo-max-movies-removed.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">removing content</a> for a minute now and I'm sure that will only ramp up as things progress.</p>


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Ad-Centric</h2>


<p>Having ads on any HBO content is a bummer. Advertisers in the cable space have so much power and HBO along with the other premium channels were able to circumvent that. Their money comes from subscriptions leaving the content free of a advertising's influence. Media is made for the viewer, not for advertisers to pull in viewers. While that same model will live on (not sure for how long), it's rough to think about any facet of the HBO brand being swayed by advertisers.</p>


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Sacrifice</h2>


<p>With this shift comes a clear motivation to cut costs and bulk up the library. Unscripted shows are usually quicker and cheaper to produce. If you're trying to please advertisers you want people always watching. If it's a bad show, who cares, you just want more slots to put advertisements. I see HBO Max as the sacrifice to get people to hop onto the new service. As things progress, HBO Max will be stripped of everything that set it up to be a true quality service. At least the demise has less to do with HBO itself, which can't be said for <a href="https://data.neatfilms.net/the-fall-of-a-titan/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Netflix's fall from grace.</a></p>


<p>Warner Bros. and Discovery have merged into one lump of a media company. The big news that has come along with the decision is to <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/warner-bros-discovery-details-new-streaming-plans-hbo-max-1235192892/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">merge HBO Max into Discovery+</a>. The new service aims to capture large groups of viewers with programming spanning all genres. The service will be broken into tiers, two of which include ads. This merge spells out serious trouble for quality content and will likely lead to an influx of sub-par unscripted media. The end result being another streaming service with a massive library of nothing worth watching.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="554" src="https://data.neatfilms.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/hbo_discovery_merge-1024x554.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-247" srcset="https://data.neatfilms.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/hbo_discovery_merge-1024x554.jpg 1024w, https://data.neatfilms.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/hbo_discovery_merge-300x162.jpg 300w, https://data.neatfilms.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/hbo_discovery_merge-768x415.jpg 768w, https://data.neatfilms.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/hbo_discovery_merge-1536x831.jpg 1536w, https://data.neatfilms.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/hbo_discovery_merge.jpg 1903w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Quality First</h2>



<p>The biggest thing I fear from this merge is a drop in quality. HBO Max&#8217;s scripted content has been <a href="https://www.cbr.com/report-hbo-max-faces-scripted-content-gutting-staff-reduction/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">slashed brutally</a> with a push towards unscripted. Whichever someone prefers it&#8217;s concerning that one is get cut down so much to prop up the other. They say they want to provide content for all but clearly folks who want scripted content are being left out to dry. If you don&#8217;t enjoy unscripted content, anything in that vein will not be seen as quality. If over 2/3 of the new stuff that enters the platform is seen as poor-quality by the viewer, I can&#8217;t imagine they&#8217;ll stick around long.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Choice Begone</h2>



<p>With HBO Max, there was finally a streaming service with a large catalog of quality scripted content. It was a lot like Netflix in the early days when they were able to scoop up content licensing left and right. Before its emergence, it seems folks would have to straddle at least two services to cover their bases. With HBO Max, there was now an option that could very well be a replacement for both. At the very least it could replace one of them. The service also allowed folks to bypass expensive cable plans which would be needed to even think about getting the premium channel. The merger has destroyed this avenue and if you want HBO only, you&#8217;re back to dealing with cable. Technically if both the libraries were merged it would be a pretty good treasure trove. Unfortunately HBO Max has been <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2022/08/hbo-max-movies-removed.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">removing content</a> for a minute now and I&#8217;m sure that will only ramp up as things progress.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Ad-Centric</h2>



<p>Having ads on any HBO content is a bummer. Advertisers in the cable space have so much power and HBO along with the other premium channels were able to circumvent that. Their money comes from subscriptions leaving the content free of a advertising&#8217;s influence. Media is made for the viewer, not for advertisers to pull in viewers. While that same model will live on (not sure for how long), it&#8217;s rough to think about any facet of the HBO brand being swayed by advertisers.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Sacrifice</h2>



<p>With this shift comes a clear motivation to cut costs and bulk up the library. Unscripted shows are usually quicker and cheaper to produce. If you&#8217;re trying to please advertisers you want people always watching. If it&#8217;s a bad show, who cares, you just want more slots to put advertisements. I see HBO Max as the sacrifice to get people to hop onto the new service. As things progress, HBO Max will be stripped of everything that set it up to be a true quality service. At least the demise has less to do with HBO itself, which can&#8217;t be said for <a href="https://data.neatfilms.net/the-fall-of-a-titan/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Netflix&#8217;s fall from grace.</a></p>


Unconventional Horror

The Fall of a Titan

Warner Bros. and Discovery have merged into one lump of a media company spelling the start of the end.

Death by Merger