HBO Max and Discovery Plus completed their merger recently and now, the new company formed out of it has promised to offer “the most differentiated content portfolio in the world.”

The merger was worth a billion dollars and will allow WarnerMedia and Discovery to bring their extensive and diverse entertainment portfolio to viewers across the globe.

The multibillion-dollar deal will allow AT&T, WarnerMedia’s current owner, to bring its content over to Discovery and form a new business under the name Warner Bros. Discovery. According to the new business, it “will be able to invest in more original content for its streaming services, enhance the programming options across its global linear pay-TV and broadcast channels, and offer more innovative video experiences and consumer choices.”

David Zaslav, who is the Discovery president and CEO will be leading the new company to new frontiers which is a very huge responsibility. Jason Kilar and a number of other AT&T-era executives are out at WarnerMedia, and a new leadership team under Zaslav was announced shortly before the deal’s finalization.

The agreement will allow AT&T to pay off its gargantuan debt while positioning Discovery as a more formidable competitor in the streaming and studio space.

HBO Max and Discovery Plus are eventually expected to merge into a single service. As AT&T said last year, the deal will allow the two companies to “combine WarnerMedia’s storied content library of popular and valuable IP with Discovery’s global footprint, a trove of local-language content and deep regional expertise across more than 200 countries and territories.”

The deal is a big one and will help tackle bigger fish like Netflix, which has controlled the market share for a very long time with other competitors like Amazon Prime stepping to the occasion.

“This is a merger that makes a lot of sense,” Palomba told The Verge by phone recently. “If you look at the stocks for AT&T — which has been on the downward trend for about the last five years — and then you look at Discovery, which has been on a downward trend for maybe almost a decade now, it made sense to make this.”

HBO Max and Discovery Plus are expected to merge into a single service

HBO Max and Discovery Plus streaming apps are expected to be merged into one very soon as confirmed by Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels months ago. Bundling options are expected to come into effect as the two apps become one big product offering of services.

HBO is renowned for critically acclaimed series like Euphoria and Watchmen while Discovery is best known for its unscripted content such as ghost hunting and 90 Day Fiancé.

The merger between the two streaming giants has already created a ripple effect within the market. Based on statistical data from JustWatch, the SVOD market shares in Q1 2022 have changed a lot. HBO Max saw the most growth in Q1, adding +2% market share and overtaking Disney+ and Hulu to become the third-largest streaming platform in the US.

Netflix remains the market leader but has continued to feel the effects of the increasingly competitive market and fell by 2% in Q1.

Market share development in 2022

Since January, HBO Max has continued to gain momentum and added +1% market share, passing a standstill for Disney+. The growth of midfield players Apple TV+ and Paramount+ affected market leaders Netflix and Hulu, which each lost -1% since the beginning of 2022.