Max Reportedly Has Far Fewer TV Shows, Episodes than HBO Max and discovery+; Will This Impact Customer Satisfaction?
Despite the pomp and circumstance surrounding the recent launch of Warner Bros. Discovery’s merged streaming service Max, one aspect of the combination of HBO Max and discovery+’s libraries that hasn’t yet been widely discussed is that the new service appears to have significantly lowered the number of titles available to customers. It has been no secret that WBD has canceled shows and removed content as a cost-cutting measure since WarnerMedia and Discovery officially merged in spring 2022, but company execs promised earlier this year, that the company's austere period had ended.
However, according to a new report from streaming guide Reelgood, Max offers significantly fewer titles than its two predecessors. While the number of films housed on the combined service is relatively close to what was available before, the major disparity comes on the TV side of the new streamer. The day before the two WBD services merged on May 24, 2023, discovery+ and HBO Max accounted for a total of 2,559 television series and 81,239 episodes according to Reelgood. However, when the two services merged, those numbers plummeted to 1,208 and 51,575.
| Date | May 23, 2023 | May 23, 2023 | May 25, 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service: | Discovery+ | HBO Max | Max |
| Number of Movies | 279 | 2,377 | 2,264 |
| Number of TV Series | 1,917 | 642 | 1,208 |
| Number of TV Episodes | 59,048 | 22,191 | 51,575 |
WBD had always made clear that not all of discovery+’s catalog would end up on Max, but the sizable discrepancy between what was available on the two services before the Max launch and after is striking. Nevertheless, all of the cuts to HBO Max’s library — as well as across the rest of WBD’s divisions — have had a positive financial impact on the company. Despite the fact that merger-related debt ballooned to more than $5.5 billion, in the last quarter, WBD reported that its streaming division actually made a $50 million profit for the first time in company history.
Despite the trimming of inventory on the new Max service, WBD executives are apparently pleased with the rollout. While there were a number of hiccups at launch, during its first week, more than 70% of HBO Max subscribers had logged into Max. That shows that those customers had actively used the service over the first seven days, either by their HBO Max app automatically transitioning to Max or from the user downloading the new app proactively.
WBD has said that the titles that it removes are shows that do not perform well on the service, minimizing the impact it will have on a large portion of users. However, when a subscriber realizes that a series or film that they are especially interested in is no longer available, that could lead to the customer questioning if they want to remain subscribed.
Click on each image to see the full title breakdown.
The content offerings clearly haven’t affected Max’s launch in the eyes of WBD execs, as the company’s CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels had positive things to say about the launch.
“It’s Day 1, but so far so good, and we’re very, very pleased with how [the launch has] gone,” Wiedenfels said. “Thinking ahead here for the rest of the year and for the future of the company, this combined product opens up so much opportunity for us, and we’re going to learn so much over the next few months in terms of changing fewer behaviors, the cross-pollination between the two content portfolios now being combined into one.”
Undoubtedly one of the things that Warner Bros. Discovery is looking to learn is how the service’s customer base responds to the dwindling content offering on the platform. While the company has licensed some of its cut content to other streamers, and more could end up on an eventual in-house free streamer, time will tell if fewer options lower the value proposition for Max customers.
Max
Max is a subscription video streaming service that gives access to the full HBO library, along with exclusive Max Originals. There are hubs for content from TLC, HGTV, Food Network, Discovery, TCM, Cartoon Network, Travel Channel, ID, and more. Watch hit series like “The Last of Us,” “House of the Dragon,” “Succession,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and more. Thanks to the B/R Sports add-on, users can watch NBA, MLB, NHL, March Madness, and NASCAR events.