Warner Bros. Discovery has built a strong streaming library around HBO Max, but its insistence on pay-TV baggage is holding the service back—especially as media ownership shifts raise fresh questions about what happens next for subscribers.
Warner Bros. and HBO have always carried a little extra turbulence—starting with the Time Warner deal mishap in 2018. when AT&T acquired the company. The roster of what came after is still impressive: HBO projects sit alongside selections from the Criterion Channel. DC. Cartoon Network. and Studio Ghibli. But the way audiences were introduced to the service has been far less smooth.
When HBO Max launched in 2020, it was hit with brand confusion about what exactly was included in the package. Then the service was renamed to Max before reverting back to the original HBO Max title. and the mess didn’t stop there. After Warner Bros. was acquired by Discovery. the homepage saw an influx of unwanted content—an onboarding experience that risked muddying everything that made the library appealing. HBO Max has managed to weather some of those issues and pull ahead in the streaming wars, but Warner Bros. Discovery is still being held back by its pay-TV programming.
The pay-TV market itself is shrinking, even if it isn’t disappearing. Linear content has been described as harming Warner Bros. Discovery’s revenue, with reported low viewership, fewer subscribers, and less engagement. That gets harder to justify when HBO Max’s content overlaps heavily with what used to live elsewhere. In addition to HBO shows. the service has started including some sports and news content—an expansion that creates new streaming opportunities. Still, Warner Bros. Discovery’s ability to move quickly is complicated by how pay-TV continues to pull on the business.
Under David Zaslav, Warner Bros. Discovery has faced what the piece describes as an identity crisis: decisions were made to showcase differences between HBO Max exclusives and shows on the traditional HBO channel. but the Discovery material on top wasn’t desirable and reflected poorly on everything else inside a subscription. And while Warner Bros. Discovery appeared to streamline its traditional bundles. Paramount remained the last of the major conglomerates to embrace streaming—and Paramount+ has been plagued with issues since its inception.
HBO Max’s library is positioned as its strongest argument. The service has major HBO drivers like Euphoria and House of the Dragon pulling significant viewership on streaming and broadcast. But exclusives aren’t just add-ons anymore; the article points to Emmy-winning successes such as Hacks and The Pitt. After the “Project Popcorn” fiasco, Warner Bros. had one of its most successful years ever in 2025. which it says helped streaming too—because audiences expected in-demand titles like Sinners. Weapons. Superman. and the Best Picture winner One Battle After Another.
There’s also the coming promise of the upcoming Harry Potter show. described as poised to be one of HBO Max’s biggest hits ever by targeting family audiences—something the service hadn’t previously leaned into. With HBO Max framed as an all-encompassing destination for different niche groups. the logic in the article is blunt: keeping pay-TV doesn’t match the reality of a shrinking. very specific audience. Instead, the better move would be to introduce those audiences to streaming—keeping their current options while offering more material.
That’s where the ownership question starts to feel urgent. The acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount Pictures is described as dangerous, largely because it risks monopolizing media channels. But the bigger concern in the reporting is Paramount’s performance on streaming. The Paramount+ app is called notoriously buggy. and it’s been described as struggling to find a logical way to accommodate pay-TV content. even though it remains heavily invested in that format. If HBO Max were transitioned into Paramount+—or Paramount+ into HBO Max—the article warns there could be an influx of pay-TV content that brings in established issues like advertising complications and declining audiences.
The contrast is uncomfortable: HBO Max is described as having managed to clearly communicate what it is to its audience. yet still could face another dramatic reworking. The article also points to the changing nature of television itself—less reliance on broadcast schedules. more programming that resembles “traditional TV.” It cites The Pitt’s success and its 15-week run as a template that mirrors network shows from decades prior.
In that environment, the piece argues that Warner Bros. Discovery might be forced to operate under Paramount+ in an impending unification. and that’s challenging because Paramount+ hasn’t produced the breakout hits the article expects. It also notes Paramount has bungled the Star Trek franchise and is set to lose out on future opportunities with Taylor Sheridan after he signed a new creative deal with NBCUniversal.
Television, the article concludes, is evolving as both a medium and an art form—and Warner Bros. Discovery has to make sure it isn’t living in the past. As the pay-TV audience narrows and streaming continues to build its own “traditional TV” rhythms. the question hanging over HBO Max is no longer whether the library is strong. It’s whether the business structure around it can stop dragging the experience down.
Warner Bros. Discovery HBO Max Max David Zaslav Discovery acquisition AT&T Time Warner Paramount Pictures Paramount+ pay-TV decline streaming wars Euphoria House of the Dragon Hacks The Pitt Project Popcorn Harry Potter Taylor Sheridan Star Trek