Warner Bros. Discovery is moving aggressively into the free-to-air, or FAST, space, after removing a number of titles from HBO Max.
This comes as some shows are being removed from streaming services including Raised by Wolves, Head of the Class and Time Traveler’s Wife as well as what is actually shown FBoy Island, Legend and Looking for Magic Mike.
The company is picking up these shows, many of which were previously known to have been canceled (only Finding Magic Mike latest), from the platform and instead put together a package of shows to license to a third-party FAST channel.
While many of the shows are being produced by other studios including the likes of Scout Productions and STX, sources said the deal has been made even before the full deals have been sealed.
Westworldthe Warner Bros. TV-produced series that Deadline announced was scheduled for free streaming, is also among this list of shows, alongside. The Nevers.
Meanwhile, the rights to Gordita Chronicles, Love Life, Made for Love, The Garcias and Minx, which were canceled, are returning to the creators and studios behind them. The company said it is talking with studio partners about opportunities “to further expand the reach of shows, including but not limited to licensing to third-party FAST platforms”.
However, those with knowledge of what is happening say that these companies, including the likes of Lionsgate, are free to do what they want with these shows, including selling to others who receive their money.
Warner Bros. Discovery also noted that it will show more of its “long-running WBD FAST offering in 2023.”
Westworld producers Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy said, “We’re proud of it Westworld and the amazing work of our staff and employees. We are delighted to have the opportunity to welcome new audiences to our show.”
All this comes as the company has revealed that it has taken a bigger hit on content and development than it originally expected. In an SEC filing on Wednesday, it noted that this has risen from $250 million to $3.5 billion, amid charges of restructuring and misappropriation related to the $5.3 billion WarnerMedia-Discovery merger.
“It’s worse than we thought, worse than we thought,” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said recently. “You opened the closet, things fell out. We are working on it. Some things are better than we thought below – better talent than we thought. But there were many things that were even worse than we thought.”
“All subscriptions … we haven’t taken a single show on a platform that will help us in any way,” he added on a recent earnings call.
Other titles removed from HBO Max this year include scripted series such as Camping, Mrs. Fletcher, Run and Vinyl and indeed a series like this Ellen’s Next Great Designer and Generation Hustle as well as many animated series.
It also killed in-production Batgirl film; cast JJ Abrams’ HBO drama series Demimonde, which was reported to have a budget of between $200 million; along with the slash series se The Big D, Chad and others on the Turner network side.
