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Something about me? I have been a nerdy cinephile for as long as I can remember. Putting the two together is living my best life. That notwithstanding, I was born to express, not to impress, so I blog because I don't have friends. In other news, I like hashtags because they look like waffles, prefer my puns intended, and I always give 100% unless I'm donating blood. Thanks for reading.
In a sweeping move over the weekend strong enough to knock God off his feet, WBD axed many of its “Non-Scripted Shows,” primarily from Discovery+. What was supposed to be a financial savings move turned out to be a bloodletting.
David Zaslav, the Major Domo of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), has a sole objective when he was given the reins to HBO Max–find $3 Billion worth of savings. Sure, we got excited amid all the talk of restoring DCEU (whatever is going on there). Yet, he lit $90 million on fire by canceling Batgirl for no reason, so no one knows what is happening. Entertaining the fans is important to the new CEO and Chairman. Keeping his promise to his shareholders is the goal.
And that’s why HBO Max pulled a Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees on WBD’s non-scripted department. Zaslav slashed everything and left no witnesses. WBD has removed almost 70 movies and TV series from its platform without warning or hesitation. The focal point of this strategy is to help smooth the path to combining Discovery+ and HBO Max into a super streamer by mid-2023.
What is WBD Saving Anyway?
If you visited your HBO Max or Discovery+ apps to click on one of your binge-able treats, you might have encountered this screen grab. To date, Zaslav has eradicated 14% of all staffers across both platforms. Although the boss made shareholders the promise, there was no telling how it would happen. Now you know if you were one of those unsuspecting 14% in charge of nearly 70 shows.
As we work toward bringing our content catalogs under one platform, we will be making changes to the content offering available on both HBO Max and Discovery+. That will include the removal of some content from both platforms.
WBD Spokesperson via CNBC, August 20
The move was focused and targeted, instead of looking to trim the fat–teen dramas, children’s shows, and a hefty excising of non-scripted shows. The house-cleaning involves HBO Max no longer making reality shows, as it will get its fix from other WBD platforms known for those, including HGTV, Food Network, and Animal Planet. Kids’ programs aren’t pulling strong numbers, so Sesame Street also got pummeled. If you’re a fan of The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo,” all 200 back episodes are gone.
While you may like some of these shows if they didn’t pull numbers and were “consistently viewed,” they are gone. These shows pay $1.5 to $2 million per episode, placing those cut shows and staff into perspective. If you’re mad about this hullabaloo, the aforementioned WBD talking head has another note:
At the same time, we’re already starting to bring our content catalogs together like the launch of the new CNN Originals Hub on discovery+ and a curated collection of Magnolia Network content coming soon to HBO Max.
WBD Spokesperson via CNBC, August 20
Oh, well, since you said it like that…
A Walk Among the Tombstones
During the second quarter of the newly merged mega-entertainment network, WBD reported a $3,4 billion loss! Cuts were coming, but the non-scripted community at Warner Bros. and Discovery was “devastated.” It’s possible WBD’s Freddy Kruegers and Jigsaws aren’t done.
But no projects are completely safe. Everything’s being evaluated. They’re going to be looking at them all, everything’s being driven by finance right now so just because it’s safe today, doesn’t mean they don’t take another look and say ‘Maybe the tax write off would be better’
Anonymous source via Deadline
Need a breakdown to check your shows? Break out the pen, pad, and tissue:
HBO Max Originals
- 12 Dates of Christmas
- About Last Night
- Aquaman: King of Atlantis
- Close Enough
- Ellen’s Next Great Designer
- Esme & Roy
- The Fungies!
- Generation Hustle
- Generation
- Infinity Train
- Little Ellen
- My Mom, Your Dad
- Odo
- Ravi Patel’s Pursuit of Happiness
- Summer Camp Island
- The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo
- The Runaway Bunny
- Theodosia
- Tig n’ Seek
- Yabba Dabba Dinosaurs
HBO Originals
- My Dinner with Herve
- Share
Cartoon Network
- Dodo
- Elliott From Earth
- Mao Mao, Heroes of Pure Heart
- Mighty Magiswords
- OK K.O.! – Let’s Be Heroes
- Uncle Grandpa
- Victor and Valentino
Acquired Titles
- Detention Adventure
- Messy Goes to Okido
- Mia’s Magic Playground
- The Ollie & Moon Show
- Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures
- Make It Big, Make It Small
- Squish
As a reminder, the streaming platform began trimming by removing six original movies earlier in August.
- Moonshot
- Superintelligence
- The Witches
- An American Pickle
- Locked Down
- Charm City Kings
Something about me? I have been a nerdy cinephile for as long as I can remember. Putting the two together is living my best life. That notwithstanding, I was born to express, not to impress, so I blog because I don't have friends. In other news, I like hashtags because they look like waffles, prefer my puns intended, and I always give 100% unless I'm donating blood. Thanks for reading.
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