Will Discovery shows still stream on HBO Max after the name change?
Will Discovery shows still stream on HBO Max after the name change?
According to Warner Bros. Discovery reps, there are no plans to change how and when Discovery shows appear on the streamer.
Last week, Warner Bros. Discovery announced that the company was finally reversing course on what is arguably CEO David Zaslav’s silliest misstep. Two years after stripping the company’s flagship streaming service of its most powerful branding, Max is set to become HBO Max once again. By putting the company’s premium cable channel back front and center on the streamer’s name, it communicates to consumers that prestige television dramas and comedies, blockbuster and award-contending movies, compelling documentaries, and innovative reality shows are going to be prioritized. But what does that mean for all of the lean-back cable content that Zaslav foisted upon the platform from the Discovery side of the company?
Key Details:
- What’s in a name?: Warner Bros. Discovery is returning the “HBO” to its flagship streamer’s name this fall.
- What about Discovery? In the rebranding announcement, WBD focused on the platform’s prestige programming, but where does that leave its cozy cable content?
- No change… for now: WBD reps tell The Streamable that no changes are planned in regards to Discovery shows streaming on HBO Max.
When HBO Max originally morphed into Max in May 2023, one of the biggest changes came in the influx of programming from the cable channels that Zaslav brought with him to WBD when Warner Media merged with Discovery. This content change significantly altered the construction of the service, and WBD had banked on the fact that by offering HBO’s high-quality content alongside the comfy shows from HGTV, Food Network, and Magnolia Network, true crime content from Investigation Discovery, and reality shows from TLC that Max would have something for everybody, making it an indispensable part of every family’s streaming lineup.
Whether or not that has happened is up for debate, but through the changes and all of Zaslav's controversial cost-cutting, WBD has continued to add streaming subscribers — aided by international expansion — and its streaming arm has achieved a level of precarious profitability.
But now that the HBO is being put back in Max, where does that leave the Discovery content that has been available on the platform for over two years, and, more importantly, the customers who have come to rely on the service to stream shows like “Property Brothers” and “Spring Baking Championship”?
For now, it appears that very little is set to change. A WBD spokesperson told The Streamable that Discovery content will still be available on HBO Max once the service changes names this summer. As has been the case since the initial Max rebranding, not all Discovery shows will appear on HBO Max all the time, and not all previous seasons will be available to stream on the service. To get on-demand access to the entire library of shows from the cable channels, cord-cutters would need to subscribe to discovery+.
However, the regular rotation of shows is set to continue as it has since spring 2023, with many new releases appearing on both discovery+ and HBO Max when new seasons become available on their individual linear channels.
“We will continue to send you listings of what’s coming to Max every month,” the spokesperson said, “and users can continue to find available food, home, relationship, and other non-scripted content in the brand spotlight pages, among other locations in app.”
In Warner Bros. Discovery's announcement about the name change, it said that HBO Max would be “the most unique and captivating stories, ranging from the highest quality in scripted programming, movies, documentaries, true crime, adult animation, and live sports and news.”
Left out of that description were the cooking, home renovation, dating, and ghost-hunting that the Discovery side of the media conglomerate is known for. So while WBD is currently insisting that the status quo will remain in place despite the branding pivot, it does feel as though the company is positioning itself to slowly — or perhaps suddenly — wean the comfy, unscripted content off of the platform at some point.
HBO Max
HBO Max is a subscription video streaming service that gives access to the full HBO library and 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. Within HBO Max, B/R Sports allows users to watch live NBA, MLB, NHL, March Madness, and NASCAR events.