It was bound to happen. The streaming subscription market got too crowded, and the quest to be the biggest dog in the ring became a Pyrrhic one. Streaming underwent a massive expansion; now, we’re seeing the corresponding compression. Subscription rates have leveled off, growth has slowed, and what was once a bottomless wallet that funded every project has gotten lighter.
It’s one of the reasons why HBO Max made such a splash in 2020; it was entering a crowded, oversaturated marketplace, and it still managed to become one of the beloved streaming services, pretty much overnight. But unfortunately, that might change.
What we’re seeing now, with the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery Inc., is a perfect storm. WarnerMedia, HBO’s parent company, announced in August that it merged with Discovery to form a new company: Warner Bros. Discovery. And that’s led to some questionable decisions, like scrapping Batgirl, that have rubbed both subscribers and creators the wrong way. Here’s what you need to know about the drama brewing over HBO Max and what it might mean for you as a subscriber.