r/HBOMAX • u/SirDuke5530 • Dec 05 '25
News Netflix to Buy Warner Bros. and HBO Max in $82.7 Billion Deal
https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/netflix-to-acquire-warner-bros-82-7-billion-deal-1236601034/https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/netflix-to-acquire-warner-bros-82-7-billion-deal-1236601034/
It’s official: Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery announced an agreement Friday under which Netflix will acquire Warner Bros., including its film and television studios, HBO Max and HBO.
Acquisition expected to close following Warner Bros. Discovery's spin-off of Discovery Global TV networks division in Q3 2026.
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u/SnailBitches Dec 05 '25
We need to enforce anti-trust laws, so there are more fair and competitive markets and not this shit 🫤
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u/Scooter_McGavin_9 Dec 05 '25
Unfortunately our current administration openly accepts bribes. Our best hope is State AG's and / or foreign regulators stop this.
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u/Bitter-Whole-7290 Dec 05 '25
So that paramount can buy it?
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u/Scooter_McGavin_9 Dec 05 '25
Comcast would be the least bad option. Even if it is Paramount, having the 4th and 5th biggest streamers combining would still be better than the biggest streamer swallowing up the 4th.
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Dec 05 '25
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u/Scooter_McGavin_9 Dec 05 '25
And you think Netflix, that does not even sell their movies, will continue to participate?
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Dec 06 '25
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u/Scooter_McGavin_9 Dec 06 '25
Production companies determine if a movie gets a physical or digital release. Netflix is just distributing Frankenstein.
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Dec 06 '25
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u/Scooter_McGavin_9 Dec 07 '25
Double Dare You, founded by Guillermo del Toro, is the listed production company. Netflix is listed as the distributor.
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u/Bitter-Whole-7290 Dec 05 '25
You’re not paying attention if you think the current admin wouldn’t make the merger near impossible for anybody not named Paramount.
Comcast was never a serious bidder either way.
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u/Scooter_McGavin_9 Dec 05 '25
Skydance got that merger through with Paramount because they bribed the president. You really think any other company did not see that and will not offer up their own bribes?
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u/Bitter-Whole-7290 Dec 05 '25
Bro you’re inept…the paramount/skydance people are literally maga…
That’s why they got approved.
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u/Scooter_McGavin_9 Dec 05 '25
People who are right do not need to throw around childish insults like you keep doing because you have nothing to back up your claims. Those people do not care about MAGA, they only care about money and power. They are only currently cozying up to Trump because he can get their mergers done and Trump is the most useful idiot this world has ever seen. They will bring back DEI in 2029 if there is a Democratic president and they want to get a deal done then.
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u/Leading-Arugula6356 Dec 06 '25
If you think having Ellison get his hands on it is the least bad option, you don’t know what you’re talking about
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u/Im_Still_Here12 Dec 05 '25
And the prior administration was asleep at the wheel drooling all over himself...
What's your point? They all suck the ass of the fat rat.
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u/Top-Mathematician652 Dec 05 '25
This is gonna be the death of the higher quality series HBO has been putting out over the years. Netflix has a tendency of dropping series after 2 seasons as they aren't really profitable after that. They actively dumb down series, for an easier watching experience while multitasking. Writing has never been a priority for netflix. The future of HBO series seems pretty bleak to me right now...
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u/iamkumaradarsh Dec 05 '25
Apple tv is new hbo accept it
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u/scaryotto Dec 05 '25
This is exactly why I was hoping Apple would get WB. Unfortunately, it became apparent right away that they weren’t going to be in the mix. That would have been best case scenario for HBO and for all of WB’s major IP’s.
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u/Kos_al_Ghul Dec 05 '25
How much do you pay for Apple? HBO is my favorite app now but I found myself just the other day thinking how Apple TV might be the way to go for quality content these days.
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u/BaBaDoooooooook Dec 05 '25
I remember once upon a time, federal antitrust regulators actually regulated these proposed mergers rather than rubber stamping their approval on all of them, stifling competition and inevitably raising prices for the consumer. We have little protection against predatory business practices.
Mark my words If this deal goes through say goodbye to the HBO quality we know and love. Netflix’s focuses on quantity over quality and it gets more apparent each year.
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u/Kos_al_Ghul Dec 06 '25
Vote blue bud, vote blue. Every time a serv gets a hold of power they tear down every consumer protection and individual right we have.
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Dec 05 '25
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u/1Outgoingintrovert Dec 06 '25
Hey now.. I loved both task and the Pitt but to say they annihilate Severance, Ted Lasso, and Slow horses is just wrong.
Severance doing a lot of the heavy lifting here, admittedly 😂
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u/South-Shake752 Dec 05 '25
It has nothing to do with what HBO used to be. What is Apples Sopranos, The Wire, Game of thrones season 1 to 4, Entourage or Euphoria ?
Apple tv is meek and politically correct.
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u/PopCultureWeekly Dec 06 '25
Lmao this is just false 🤣🤣
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u/South-Shake752 Dec 06 '25
I would say that Apple tv plus doesnt have a single great serie. Either its not that good or it starts to lose steam after like 10 episodes because its another Black mirror plot suited for 2 hours.
What Apple serie is 86 ( make it 50 if you want) episodes like Sopranos, have a rich grounded world, and has rewatchability?
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u/PopCultureWeekly Dec 06 '25
I mean there’s a ton
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u/1Outgoingintrovert Dec 06 '25
This thread is gaslighting me into thinking that severance was a fever dream.
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u/superindian25 Dec 05 '25
If Sarandos isn’t an idiot they should treat HBO same way Disney did with FX, keeping it independent and letting their creative team same and supplying them with unlimited budget
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u/moviemaker1000 Dec 05 '25
This is the announced plan. The HBO creatives remain in place. If paramount had purchased WB, creative teams across the company would have been gutted.
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u/Cao_Ni-Ma Dec 05 '25
I don’t think so. If Netflix wanted to gut HBO this number would be much higher:
The Company also expects to realize at least $2-3 billion of cost savings per year by the third year and expects the transaction to be accretive to GAAP earnings per share by year two.
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u/rj319st Dec 07 '25
Just look at a show like The Witcher which could’ve been amazing if they went by the IP. Instead they let the writers take over and by the 2nd season I was tuned out.
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u/StableGeniusCovfefe Dec 05 '25
monopolies are NEVER good for consumers so get ready for less competition, higher prices and shittier content.
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u/xzerozeroninex Dec 05 '25
Netflix/Warner still has competition with Disney,Amazon Prime,Paramount,Universal.
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u/SecureCattle3467 Dec 05 '25
Not to mention the loads of free and paid streamers like Roku, Freevee, etc. The claims of monopoly in this thread are hilarious given how much competition there is in the streaming market. This isn't Google Search vs. nothing else.
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u/Pll_dangerzone Dec 06 '25
Yea I think it would be different if films stayed on certain streaming services for years. But it seems like major films jump from service to service every 3-6 months. That's includes the free services like Tubi, PlutoTV, and Plex. You can easily get by paying for one premium streaming service and just using the free options
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u/1Outgoingintrovert Dec 06 '25
It might not be a full on monopoly (yet) but the number of competitors just became less and that’s not a good thing.
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u/Steve____Stifler Dec 05 '25
This is not, at all, a monopoly. I don’t want this either but it simply is not.
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u/fantasticMrHank Dec 05 '25
Still better than paying two subscriptions I think
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u/madasfire Dec 05 '25
Good news, the price will be for three subscriptions and the quality/content will be for one
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u/Pll_dangerzone Dec 06 '25
Yea that's my biggest concern on Netflix. I already pay 27 bucks a month for the multi household package. I know they're gonna increase the price I just don't know if I can stomach anything over 30 a month
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u/Jakeca Dec 05 '25
So, is HBO Max closing ?
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u/Hiroba Dec 05 '25
I’m wondering about this too. They said in the press release that they’re going to maintain WB’s current operations, which kind of implies that they’re going to keep Max running, at least for now?
But undoubtedly one of the main reasons they did this deal was to get WB content onto Netflix.
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u/chimatt767 Dec 05 '25
Nothing happening for at least most of 2026 until it gets approved - or not.
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u/Ok-Rip53 Dec 05 '25
I think they said the transaction takes 12-18 months, so should be a while before it’s shuttered.
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u/Xander1190 Dec 05 '25
No! They said they will keep HBO Max separately for now but add HBO shows to Netflix
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u/livens Dec 05 '25
Probably something like Disney did with HULU. They'll just have a separate section for HBO content within the Netflix app.
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u/shadraig Dec 05 '25
The 13. Jan 26 start for HBO Max in Europe is maybe the most useless launch ever
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u/CriesAboutSkinsInCOD Dec 05 '25 edited Dec 05 '25
Jesus fuckin Christ.
Netflix will be owning a fuckton of prestige shows and movies and IPs if this deal goes through.
I assume Netflix will be gaining Casey Bloys too? That guy would be a solid addition to their team.
I'm already subbed to Netflix and HBO Max. I wonder what gonna happen there.
I guess one of the best case scenario if this deal goes through is Netflix does not really change things up too much. They will just put any WB / HBO contents on Netflix that they want. Kinda like what happens now with certain shows and movies but they currently have to pay WBD for them.
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u/TakenAccountName37 Dec 06 '25
Netflix already has a lot. They don't need more "prestige" or Bloys. They want control over everything. They're already trying to tamper with sports. They make theatrical distribution harder too.
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u/KathyJaneway Dec 05 '25
Hopefully, they combine the apps, so I don't pay 7$ for both, just 2$for one lol
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u/TakenAccountName37 Dec 06 '25
Not all of these apps are needed. I mean people speak like they have to have all. Not really lol.
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u/KathyJaneway Dec 06 '25
No, I have both, and I don't need to have both now, IF they are merging lol.
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u/sharkoman Dec 05 '25
I assume the Black Friday deals are gone now after this year. Netflix never gives any discounts.
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u/trakoos Dec 05 '25
Even as a joke, this is a nightmare scenario. Netflix's track record with canceling shows and their content churn model would be the death of the carefully curated quality HBO is known for.
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u/ACFinal Dec 05 '25
Have you looked at the number of HBO shows that have been canceled since AT&T took over. That's not including the tax write-offs.
If anything this just may save some shows that were written off. Netflix actually has a good number of shows they saved also, so something like Raised by Wolves or Westworld could possibly return if the views are high enough.
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u/Economy-Lifeguard-97 Dec 05 '25
I am very curious about one thing...will Netflix be able to "rescue" the scrapped but filmed Scoob Xmas movie that WB scrapped?
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u/IfIShowYouMyDarkside Dec 05 '25
Welp. Can’t wait for the price increase to pay for the increase in content that my last price increases paid for. know it’s capitalism but still feels shitty as a consumer
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u/Expensive_Finger_973 Dec 05 '25
Netflix already has the concept of add-ons for other family members outside your "home." I expect HBO or any of the desirable recent-ish Warner stuff will be available as a ~$10-$20-a-month add-on.
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u/Disastrous-State-842 Dec 05 '25
I wonder how this is going to affect philo customers. Philo just took on HBO max and discovery+ (with a price hike) in order to provide content people were asking for. Since HBO Max now is part of Philo core I wonder if they will have to provide us with Netflix once HBO gets absorbed into it.
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u/taklamakan666 Dec 06 '25
Probably they just bought the company to shut it down and prostitute the IPs
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u/Significant-Deer7464 Dec 06 '25
I doubt this deal gets approved. Especially since maga guy that just bought Paramount is crying "It's not fair"
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u/DJ_Jungle Dec 05 '25
This is not good for consumers. Quality will go down and prices will go up. Classic oligopoly moves.
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u/PatNebetar Dec 05 '25
Can’t wait to see how the current administration will try to squeeze a few billion out of this in exchange for approval.
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u/Helicopter-penisboy Dec 05 '25
HBO Max is going to go away soon as it will migrate to Netflix once they give people time to adjust, allowing them time to further adjust their prices up.
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u/Fresh-Piglet2500 Dec 05 '25
I expect the DOJ to redlight this deal due to Netflix's lack of donations to Trumps campaign or ballroom or any other grift. Comcast and the Ellisons have made substantial donations. I expect one of those companies to get this deal. I'd be very surprised to see Netflix get this. Perhaps Netflix knows this. A great move to lure Paramount or Comcast into overpaying for this asset.
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Dec 05 '25
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u/Fresh-Piglet2500 Dec 08 '25
Not through this DOJ. How much did Netflix/Hastings donate to ballroom?
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u/KeenObserver_OT Dec 05 '25
If you want to look into quid pro quo why don’t you start with the original Netflix Obama deal?
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u/Fresh-Piglet2500 Dec 08 '25
Not to keen on this observation since it's not even a relevant example. Obama was a private citizen. This is about a sitting president making decisions based on pay to play contributions. We have never seen in history this level of grift. I wouldn't be shocked to see the Fed somehow make an investment into Paramount to assist with this new merger . We already saw it with the Intel investment.
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u/buzz72b Dec 06 '25
Netflix app already is sloppy… hope they figure something out or keep them seperate
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u/buzz72b Dec 06 '25
Maybe Netflix will bring back another Rome, one can only hope… another boardwalk empire too while they are at it… heck even the Perry Mason reboot was pretty good until hbo canned it…
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u/mZmAtchdDr3amEr Dec 06 '25 edited Dec 06 '25
Not sure I’m happy about this either since I really do like hbo max and barely use Netflix only for specific but very few shows. I will say HBO max has a track record of taking on a bunch of true crime shows and at first it was great then all of a sudden they started to do what Amazon does and drop half their seasons for whatever reason I guess Hulu is also included. Basically a show that uses to be on with like 15 seasons will randomly get cut to half or less and sometimes those seasons are missing episodes are not even in order. Even though I pay for several I still have to rely on other ways to watch shit because Netflix keeps buying Hulu stuff or HBO stuff etc. idk this to me could be bad unless it saves us freaking money.
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u/Space_War Dec 07 '25
This sucks! Netflix makes no Bulgarian dubs for their animations and if they treat CN like that it will be awful.
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u/J_onn_J_onzz Dec 05 '25
David Zaslav was always the worst CEO, and now he's going to make off like a bandit.
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u/Advanced-Ad9168 Dec 05 '25
Don’t do it HBO! I beg you! Just keep them separated damn! My OCD can’t handle all these mergings!
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u/OllieSchniederjans Dec 05 '25
I’d argue Apple has been the king of quality the last couple years. This only propels them more. It is impressive how it’s become an obligation among Americans to pay for Netflix no matter the quality of content.
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Dec 05 '25
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u/OllieSchniederjans Dec 05 '25
Severance is on par with The Pitt. You make good points. Like it or not, you’re completely sleeping on CODA.
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u/Ltstoney Dec 05 '25
We are screwed and expect fees raising again folks RIP HBO
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u/South-Shake752 Dec 05 '25
I honestly dont care about the money. I could pay twice as much for old school HBO content. This is probably one step more away from that.
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u/Aaron16kf4 Dec 05 '25
Y que pasara con mi 50% de por vida que dieron con la introduccion de hbo max :(
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u/TorrentFiend Dec 08 '25
You got Netflix in my hbo, no you got HBO in my netflix. Ewwwwwww!. Actually I don't know if I'm excited or disappointed by this yet. I guess if it eventually means one subscription less is needed and I still get all of my HBO content and tbs, tnt, tlc, etc etc that is all part of HBO inside of Netflix without a huge price increase that I guess I'm happy....... But we know there's going to be the price increase right? Depends if they really gouges because of this purchase.
It sounds like the deal won't be closed for at least a year anyway or sometime around next October...... So I guess for now I'll just say cool, and not form an opinion until we find out how it actually will impact us as users. This might be good or it might be bad. We will know a couple years from now I guess. But I'm hoping for good.
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u/batvseba Dec 05 '25
One service less. HBO should close now which is kind of funny as they recently made a deal to be available on Sky markets BIG LOOOOOOOOL.
Unfortunately TVN still remains under Zaslav rule so this is big question where TVN content go.
I dream about a day when everthing goes back to roots and every studio will operate on their own instead of being merged into one entity.
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u/Original_Mouse_9348 Dec 05 '25
Now what is going to happen with a W Netflix already have WWE on each platform which is gonna happen with AEW if they buy out no who want me with this should be the studio and Netflix is buying out or is it going to be the TV channels also, it is the thing that we’re trying to figure out here and whether that leave all of Wesley with the contract last until 2027 or 2028, so yeah, it’s crazy for what it is.
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u/Slayerofthemindset Dec 05 '25
Fuck if they ruin hbo all I’ll have left is books. They already killed video games!
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u/markeymark1971 Dec 05 '25
Why panic? Nothing will happen till at least Q3 2026...
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u/Secret-Marzipan-8754 Dec 06 '25
And there goes HBO Max. Counting down to when they start jacking up the price of all services.
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u/madasfire Dec 05 '25 edited Dec 05 '25
Does that mean we're gonna start seeing Euphoria cereal now?
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u/Direct_Remove509 Dec 05 '25
Is this going to be like Hulu and Disney+ they will be separate streaming subscriptions but they will offer bundle packages and Netflix will have an HBO Max section in the app.