HBO Max's removed shows to live on other free ad-supported services
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Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) chief David Zaslav has spent much of his time since taking over in April by pulling back the sprawling content company's plans, including planned removals of a number of programs on HBO Max. And now we know the fates of some of those shows.
The company recently announced that it was removing HBO shows Westworld and The Nevers from the service entirely. Those programs and others will find a new home licensed to free ad-supported TV services such as Pluto TV (PARA) (PARAA), Xumo (CMCSA), Tubi (FOX) (FOXA), Roku Channel (ROKU) and Freevee (AMZN).
That's in keeping with Zaslav's comments on recent earnings calls and presentations where he suggested that it wasn't in WBD's (WBD) interests to have a sea of content that nobody was watching on the subscription service, and that a lot of it could find new audiences through licensing.
Shows that will be moving to third-party ad-supported services include not just Westworld and The Nevers but also other recently canceled names including Raised By Wolves, FBOY Island, Legendary, Finding Magic Mike, Head of the Class, and The Time Traveler's Wife.
Joining those shows exiting HBO Max in the coming days, but not necessarily headed to ad services, will be Gordita Chronicles, Love Life, Made for Love, The Garcias and Minx.
âWarner Bros. Discovery continues to strategically assess how best to maximize audiences and monetization opportunities for its content,â the company said in a statement.
Earlier, WBD stock (WBD) dipped as the company said restructuring costs would be higher than it had expected, notably in higher costs of writing off programming.