Playback/HBO max
Angélica presented the program Jornada Astral, which has already left the HBO Max catalog
The streaming platform HBO Max laid off around 70 employees after the merger with Warner Bros. this Monday (15). Discovery. The reality production sector was dissolved and Casey Bloys, who runs the platform’s content and services division, laid off 14% of his employees, according to the Los Angeles Times website.
HBO Max’s reality show sector has been hardest hit by this streaming partnership. That’s because Discovery is known for producing competitive shows like Food NetWork, HGTV, and TLC, eliminating the need for HBO original productions.
As a result of this merger, some programs conducted here in Brazil have already been eliminated from the platform’s catalogue. As the column here reports firsthand, Jornada Astral and Sandy + Chef have been discontinued and were not expected to gain new seasons.
The company’s shares have fallen nearly 50% since the acquisition. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav promised the market $3 billion ($15.2 billion) in savings from the merger.
Further cuts to several Discovery reality TV channels are expected. And film sectors, TV Warner Bros., CNN, TBS are not excluded from this economy.
International coproductions responsible for producing outside content for HBO Max are also facing layoffs. Instead of buying films from other studios, the platform aims to leverage the shows and films already produced by Warner Bros. Discovery.
The changes come at a strategic time when the new company wants to compete with other streaming services like Netflix and Disney+. Despite the drastic cuts, HBO and HBO Max were the most successful stations/platforms at the Emmys with 140 nominations.
*In collaboration with Amanda Moreira.