And the first earning call since the two media properties Merced earlier this year. Warner Bros is now planning on combining HBO Max and Discovery+ into a single service. The new streaming service will debut in the summer of 2023, and it’s still unclear whether the new streamer will reference HBO at all, as the company’s head of global streaming, JB Perrette, said that company is still researching how consumers perceive the brand name.

This news is arriving after the newly merged company’s $3.42 billion net loss during the second quarter. JB Perrette told analysts, “At the end of the day, putting all the content together was the only way we saw to make this a viable business,” Warner Bros leadership is planning a significant shake-up of their streaming offerings, and they will need to cut $3 billion in costs, which will spawn rumors that a new form of HBO Max is underway.

Although none of the executives revealed the name of the new platform or any of the pricing details that might be useful information for us to determine how the new service might be competing in the streaming service base, the company did disclose that they will include an ad-free and less costly ad-supported plan. They might also add a free ad-supported tier to further expand their audience.

Although it’s still very unclear how this new merger will impact the future content the company offers at the new unified streamer, we have been seeing a lot of shows and movies disappearing from HBO Max in recent weeks. One thing is for sure we will see a lot fewer blockbuster movies premiere on the new streaming service. Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav said that releasing movies In theaters simply generates higher profits, “That’s why most people got into this business — to be on the big screen when the lights went out. That is the magic, and the economic model is much stronger.”