Warner Bros. Discovery Sending Shows to Netflix Is Good for Business and Future of Those Specific Licensed Titles

There have been a lot of figurative stones hurled toward Warner Bros. Discovery and its controversial CEO David Zaslav over the past year. From artists angry about their shows being removed from streaming platforms to questions about whether or not Zaslav and company actually understand the HBO brand that they inherited when Discovery purchased WarnerMedia last spring, the exec and his regime have taken it from all sides.

Much of that criticism has been warranted, but Zaslav has seemingly begun to chip into the reported $50 billion of debt taken on during the acquisition, WBD did turn a slight streaming profit earlier this year, undoubtedly leading to many “I told you so”s across the industry.

But Zaslav has gotten to this tenuously positive financial position through dramatic cuts that have seemingly upset creators and customers alike. And while in some cases the moves have been Draconian and carried out with little to no regard for long-term consequences, WBD’s latest move to license shows to its biggest streaming competitor actually seems to be a good thing, both for the longevity of the company’s creative output and the availability for those specific titles.

Last month, it was reported that Zaslav’s company was in talks to license Issa Rae's critically acclaimed comedy “Insecure” to the largest streaming service in the world, Netflix. While this move was somewhat surprising given the walled-garden approach to premium content that nearly every media company had built its streaming service around, it was not the first time that WBD had allowed its titles to stream elsewhere.

This spring, the company signed deals with free streaming services The Roku Channel and Tubi to stream a selection of series that had been axed from the then-titled HBO Max. However, now that “Insecure” is available on Netflix, there is a pretty telling difference between this deal and that with the free streamers.

Unlike with “Westworld,” “Cake Boss,” and “F-Boy Island,” which now stream exclusively on Tubi and the Roku Channel, “Insecure” can still be found on Warner Bros. Discovery’s flagship streamer Max. While literally anything can change at any moment during this incredibly volatile moment in media — especially at WBD — the fact that Rae’s series is being allowed to live on multiple platforms is a win for audiences and everyone involved with the show.

Fortunately, “Insecure” isn’t the only legacy HBO title to get this unique arrangement either. Following reports last month, it has been confirmed that “Ballers,” “Band of Brothers,” “The Pacific,” and “Six Feet Under” will be joining Netflix later this year while also being allowed to remain on Max.

While all five of those series — including “Insecure” — have wrapped, by opening them up to new audiences, WBD is allowing them to have new life and potentially a resurgence in popularity. While WBD’s combined streaming subscribers for HBO Max and discovery+ hit an impressive 97.6 million worldwide customers following the first quarter of 2023, at the same time, Netflix grew to 232.5 million. By more than doubling the potential viewers for these shows — not accounting for regional restrictions and redundant subscribers — WBD’s move has both short-term and long-term benefits.

Not only is the company now collecting licensing fees from Netflix, which will ideally lead the company to invest in the types of diverse, eclectic, and audacious programming that HBO is known for, but it also allows the series to cultivate fans who — ideally — will return to the shows for years to come. Presumably, WBD’s licensing agreement with Netflix will eventually end, meaning that if fans want to watch “Insecure,” “Ballers,” “Six Feet Under,” “Band of Brothers,” or “The Pacific” again, they will have to do so on Max. There is potentially an additional benefit for those last two titles as well.

Executive produced Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, “Band of Brothers” and “The Pacific” are getting a pseudo-sequel in Apple TV+’s “Masters of the Air.” Tentatively scheduled to debut at some point this year, the attention for the third World War II drama from the beloved creators can only help the popularity of the first two installments. While Warner Bros. Discovery will likely never have the rights to stream “Masters of the Air,” if the series is a success, it could drive more people to the originals for years to come.

One aspect of the new agreement between WBD and Netflix that has not yet been publicly discussed is how those shows’ creators, actors, and crew are to be compensated for the revenue generated by the new licensing deal. One of the major tenets at the core of the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike is achieving more equitable revenue sharing in the age of streaming. So, if Warner Bros. Discovery and Max are seeing not only immediate financial returns from licensing fees but also long-term gains via the increased exposure of the titles, the WGA — as well as sibling unions currently negotiating with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) — argues that those responsible for making the show should benefit as well.

Assuming that new collective bargaining agreements can be reached between the AMPTP — of which WBD is a member — and the WGA, Directors Guild of America, and SAG-AFTRA, having HBO shows available on the world’s largest streaming service can only enhance the potential for their long-term popularity. WBD has made it clear that titles that it removes from Max are based on the calculus between how much a show costs to keep streaming and how much attention it drives on the service. So, the Netflix deal serves as a kind of promotion for the future of the titles, while also improving the bottom line for the company as well.

At this point, it is unclear whether or not Warner Bros. Discovery will explore further licensing agreements with Netflix, or any other competing streamers for that matter, and while making Max’s most popular titles available elsewhere could undermine the value of the service, by picking its spots, WBD seems to be making moves that will help it remain financially solvent today and keep these beloved titles available tomorrow.