As part of its aggressive efforts to generate
new revenue, in addition to slashing costs, Warner Bros. Discovery is discussing licensing some HBO original titles to Netflix, according to Deadline sources.
If such a deal pans out, it would
be notable not only because it’s been nearly a decade since HBO-produced shows were streamed on a rival subscription-based video-on-demand service, but because Netflix is arguably the biggest
competitor to WBD’s recently unveiled Max streamer.
WBD CEO David Zaslav has made it clear that he would consider moving away from a walled-garden content strategy to what’s often
called an “arms dealer” strategy to drive licensing revenue.
The first title under discussion is the “Insecure” series that ran on HBO for five seasons, ending in
December 2021, but other titles are also being considered.
WBD already licensed “Westworld” and other titles to free, ad-supported streamers (FASTs) Roku and Tubi this year. And as
Deadline notes, more than a decade ago, HBO licensed edited versions of “Sex and the City” to TBS and E!/Style, “Curb Your Enthusiasm” to TV Guide Channel,
“Entourage” to Spike, and “The Sopranos” to A&E.
But the only instance of having licensed HBO series to a rival paid streaming service was to Amazon Prime Video
back in 2014, and that was before Prime Video began pushing into producing its own premium originals.
The licensing terms being discussed with Netflix would reportedly be non-exclusive,
allowing Max to keep streaming the titles, as well.
Some HBO executives are said to have voiced objections to licensing the brand’s content to Netflix, but “corporate financial
consideration won out,” according to the report, to which neither WBD or Netflix have responded.
On a different front, WBD is also coming up against pushback from major Hollywood players
concerned about the future of Turner Classic Movies/TCM, given WBD’s shakeup of the network’s leadership.