Recently Warner Bros. Discovery announced plans to merge Discovrey+ and HBO Max into a new service called Max. Disocovery+ is not going away as it will still be a cheaper option, but some significant changes have started to be made to the service.
In the past, Discovery+ subscribers would get early access to new shows and be able to watch them before they aired on TV. Now Warner Bros. Discovery has started to change that and now won’t post them until their air on TV. Some Discovery+ subscribers are also reporting that they now need to wait till the next day to see Discovery+ content.
This change removes one of the most popular features for fans who wanted early access to Discovery content. For hardcore fans of Discovery content, the ability to get it early drove many to signup for Discovery+.
Warner Bros. Discovery has not announced why they are making the change, but it seems they are trying to push live subscriptions to their channels.
It is unknown yet if when HBO Max adds Discovery+ content and rebrands to Max if the Discovery content will follow the same release schedule.
The new MAX service will have a refreshed app with user profiles, personalized recommendations, and a new navigation menu. Warner Bros. Discovery says its primary focus will be improving content discovery, trying to help keep subscribers in the app for longer.
There will also be a kid’s profile to have only kid-safe content and parental controls. Helping parents feel safe letting their kids using the app over the old HBO Max app.
Warner Bros. Discovery also says this new app will be 20 to 30% faster compared to the older app depending on your device. With improvements throughout the app to help speed up load time and more.
The service will launch on May 23rd, 2023. On that date, the HBO Max will auto-update on most devices. On a few devices, HBO Max subscribers will be forced to download a new app.