HBO Max and Discovery Plus merger live blog: All the details on new Max streaming service

The compelling rumors of the ‘Max’ service don’t seem to be winning over any fans. One Twitter user Arlen Parsa raised a good point by saying that dropping the HBO part of HBO Max isn’t good marketing. 

We’re inclined to agree. HBO Max is a pretty clear name that shows you’re going to get all the best HBO shows ever made. Much like the HBO splash screen for every series is (mostly) a reassuring mark of quality. ‘Max’ on the other hand sounds a bit like some brand of whey protein powder or high-strength painkillers. 

If you’re looking to fill some time ahead of the Warner Bros. Discover press event in just a few hours, then you might want to catch up on Succession Season 4 (opens in new tab). The drama series is one of the crown jewels of HBO Max, and its latest episode delivered a twist that reminded us why it’s the best show on TV (opens in new tab) right now. 

You’ll find no spoilers here, but let’s just say the power dynamic in the dysfunctional Roy family appears to have shifted. And this time it might just be a permanent change. The award-winning show is confirmed to be ending with this fourth season, and remarkably it appears to be raising the stakes even higher — a feat we thought practically impossible.

Oh, and if you’ve somehow never seen Succession, you should correct that oversight as soon as possible. The first three seasons are also streaming on HBO Max and should be considered required viewing for all subscribers.

Whatever form HBO Max takes in the near future, you can rest assured it’ll not be short of compelling shows to watch. 

While Succession may be coming to an end, which is no bad thing, we’ve got House of the Dragon Season 2 to look forward to. As you’ll see from the tweet below, production on the next season of the Game of Thrones pseudo-prequel is underway. 

This isn’t the first time Discovery-related content has seeped into HBO Max. In September 2022, HBO Max gained from the Magnolia Network, with all five seasons of Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Fixer Upper. We saw this as something of a test to see if the HBO Max audience has an appetite for the kinds of things hosted on Discovery Plus.

One wonders that if the “test” had been a bigger success that WBD could have felt emboldened to do an immediate price hike.

We’re not clear how long Max will be able to go without a price hike, but one feels more than likely. As you’ll see below, Discovery Plus costs either $5 per month with ads or $7 without ads, and it’s hard to see a world where that’s given away for free for long. Especially if Discovery Plus stays as its own thing. 

And while we can’t estimate the timeline for when such an increase would happen, it would likely be gradual at first. Ad-free HBO Max already went up by $1 per month earlier this year, anyway.