Discovery+ to Remain Standalone Streaming Platform While Still Combining With HBO Max (Report)

Warner Bros. Discovery will be keeping Discovery+ as a standalone streaming offering, as it prepares to launch the yet-to-be-named combined product of Discovery+ and HBO Max.

According to a Wednesday report in the Wall Street Journal, “Instead of combining HBO Max and Discovery+ in their entirety, the new platform will feature HBO Max content and most Discovery+ content, with Discovery+ remaining available as a stand-alone option, some of the people said.”

Per the WSJ’s sources, “the decision to keep Discovery+ is part of an effort to avoid risking losing a significant chunk of the app’s 20 million subscribers who might not to want to pay the higher price to access that content.”

For reference, ad-free HBO Max costs $15.99 a month, while it’s ad-supported version runs at $9.99. Discovery+ ad-free is set at $6.99 and with ads is $4.99. Discovery+ without ads costs $6.99 a month, and the ad-supported version costs $4.99. Warner Bros. Discovery has indicated that the upcoming unified streamer will cost subscribers more than HBO Max currently does.

While no date has been officially set for the launch of the combined HBO Max and Discovery+ streaming service, Warner Bros. Discovery had moved up the timeline from a summer launch to a spring debut, all while holding back on what the offering would be called.

As Variety previously reported, Warner Bros. Discovery is also launching a FAST channel this year. WBD has already set deals with Tubi and Roku giving the third-party FAST partners access to content pulled from HBO Max — including “Westworld,” “The Nevers,” “Raised by Wolves,” “FBoy Island,” “Legendary,” “Finding Magic Mike,” “Head of the Class” and “The Time Traveler’s Wife.”

Warner Bros. Discovery is set to host its fourth-quarter earnings call on Feb. 23.

Representatives for Warner Bros. Discovery did not immediately respond to request for comment Wednesday.

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