According to sources, Warner Bros. Discovery is in active discussions with Netflix about licensing HBO titles, including Insecure, to the streaming service. The two high-spending rivals would be shocked by such a deal, and as of late Tuesday, neither had reacted to THR’s request for comment on the proposed licensing agreement.
If a contract is reached, licensed content would be available on Netflix and the rebranded Max. The highly regarded HBO original series would be made available on a competing streaming service for the first time in the United States.
Rarely has HBO distributed its original content outside of its own business family. For instance, Sex and the City was sold in syndication to corporate sibling TBS (and eventually other basic cable networks) with significant editing. HBO licensed a number of shows to Amazon while Richard Plepler served as CEO because at the time the premium cable network lacked its own streaming service, including The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Deadwood, and The Wire.
According to reports, HBO insiders resisted the idea of leasing HBO content to rival Netflix, but ultimately, finance executives at Warner Bros. Discovery prevailed. Such a licensing agreement would be advantageous to HBO as it would allow for the exposure of its cherished works to a brand-new audience. Additionally, it would benefit WBD’s financial position. The merged business had approximately $50 billion in debt at the end of the most recent first quarter after Discovery acquired the former WarnerMedia. The veteran leader of TCM was among those affected by the most recent round of layoffs at the David Zaslav-led conglomerate, WBD, on Tuesday.
In an effort to make up some of the lost revenue, WBD has withdrawn a number of failing HBO programs from Max as part of its cost-cutting initiatives and licensed many of them, including the expensive Westworld, to free ad-supported streamers.
Even if the idea of HBO content appearing on Netflix is still shocking, it has happened before. In an effort to increase their exposure to a wider audience, Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish licensed a number of his company’s streaming hits throughout the industry just a few years ago. For instance, Max purchased South Park and licensed Rick and Morty to Hulu. Additionally, Yellowstone was licensed to Peacock by the then-ViacomCBS in a transaction that Bakish later regretted.
These streaming services are at a loss about what to do. We can’t keep up with all the rebranding and shows moving around from service to service.