From CNET: Discovery and WarnerMedia closed their $43 billion megamerger Friday to form the combined company Warner Bros. Discovery. The consummation of the deal unites Discovery, known for reality shows and unscripted programming on its cable networks and streaming service Discovery Plus, with a Hollywood powerhouse in WarnerMedia, home to streaming service HBO Max, the Warner Bros. movie studio and TV channels like HBO, CNN, TBS and more.
Their combination has clouded the future shape of both HBO Max and Discovery Plus. Last month, Discovery's financial chief said the company's ambition would be to combine the two services, before acknowledging that integrating them together well would take months. In the meantime, Warner Bros. Discovery would explore intermediary steps like bundling the services in a deal package, he added.
HBO Max is known for prestige originals and a deep library of top movies. Discovery Plus, on the other hand, is known for unscripted programming at both the high end (like award-winning natural history documentaries) and the low (like Naked and Afraid and the wildly popular 90-Day Fiance).
HBO Max and traditional HBO have 74 million subscribers globally, while Discovery Plus has 22 million worldwide. Still, even mashed together, that's a far cry from Netflix's 221 million.
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