This afternoon was the highly anticipated second-quarter earnings call from Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav. It had become a hot topic after they decided not to release Batgirl and other films. This caused an uproar with fans around the globe. Lots of rumors and ideas about the future of HBO Max had been circling around. Today we got clarity.

HBO Max and Discovery+ will merge into one streaming service. They did not reveal the name of the combined platform. But they did reveal that it will launch in the summer of 2023, with other regions following some time in 2024. Via NBCNews, the two streaming platforms currently account for a combined 92 million subscribers, according to the report. The goal for Warner Media Discovery is to reach 130 million global subscribers by 2025.

Warner Bros. Discovery are considering a few different versions of the streaming platform. One would be a free, ad-supported version. Currently, HBO Max’s ad-supported tier is $10. They have been noted as quite the success story. At the end of the first quarter of the fiscal year, HBO and HBO Max had risen to a combined 76.8 million global subscribers. In a market that had already seen the arrival of many other competing platforms.

ALSO SEE: BATGIRL DIRECTORS “SADDENED AND SHOCKED” BY DECISION TO SHELF FILM

Zaslav is looking to cut costs and find $3 billion in savings. Something that he had made investors after the two media giants formally merged back in April. Hence cutting the films that had been mentioned above. While it may not make any sense to us now, in the end, it may be the right decision in the long run for financial stability.

Will you be interested in a combined HBO Max Discovery+ streaming service? Are these two that you already have at home? Let us know in the comment section below!