EXCLUSIVE: HBO’s streaming walled garden is coming down, it seems.
In a hugely surprising move, Deadline understands that Warner Bros. Discovery is shopping some of its HBO library titles to rival Netflix. Such a deal would mark the first time in nearly a decade that HBO shows would exist on a rival SVOD service in the U.S.
The first title that Deadline understands is set to be part of the arrangement is Issa Rae comedy Insecure, which ran for five seasons on HBO and finished in December 2021. We hear there are other titles being discussed.
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According to sources, this is a financial move. We hear HBO veterans pushed back against the plan but corporate financial consideration won out.
Insiders stress the deal is not closed and may still fall apart, but regardless, it marks a major strategy shift across the premium pay landscape.
The shows are understood to be set to be distributed on a non-exclusive basis, which would still allow them to stream on Max.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav signaled early in his tenure that he is open to forego exclusivity and license content to boost the bottom line. Earlier this year, Warner Bros. Discovery moved to distribute titles such as Westworld to free streaming platforms such as Roku and Tubi.
Insecure itself got a run on Warner Bros. Discovery-owned cable network OWN earlier this year, a rare recent move for an HBO series to get a run on basic cable.
HBO made a big push in off-network syndication more than a decade ago when it sold edited versions of Sex and the City to TBS (and subsequently E!/Style), Curb Your Enthusiasm to TV Guide Channel, Entourage to Spike as well as The Sopranos to A&E for a blockbuster $200M deal.
In 2014, HBO struck a deal with Amazon Prime Video to license series such as The Sopranos, Deadwood, Six Feet Under and The Wire. However, this deal was struck before Amazon became a rival for premium originals.
However, this latest move would be a first in the streaming era, particularly given the increased vertical integration of all of the major Hollywood studios.
It comes as Zaslav is trying to find new ways to monetize the company’s library as he continues a cost-cutting plan across the company.
The most surprising facet of the deal is that Warner Bros. Discovery would allow some of its premium programming to live on arguably its biggest rival, likely raising eyebrows across the industry. We’ve come a long way since then-Time Warner boss Jeff Bewkes compared Netflix to the Albanian army in 2010.
On the other hand, there is hope that putting HBO shows on Netflix would give them additional exposure, reaching new global audience.
It also comes only six months after Zaslav took aim at Netflix after becoming unhappy with the way that Netflix parses its payment terms.
Netflix and HBO/Warner Bros. Discovery declined to comment.
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