The combined Warner Bros. Discovery library will make it a viable threat to Netflix and Disney
Demand for Warner Bros. Discovery’s planned HBO Max-Discovery+ offerings can place the company’s platform right in the mix of domestic streaming leaders Netflix, Hulu and Disney.
Set to launch in summer 2023, the move will combine the company’s assets into a one-stop shop for consumers looking to take advantage of its deep library of content. The new service will be even better positioned to compete against other streamers for audience attention.
Currently HBO Max is the platform with the third-largest share of demand for series available on its platform in the United States, trailing Netflix and Hulu by a decent margin, according to Parrot Analytics‘ data, which takes into account consumer research, streaming, downloads and social media, among other engagement. Combining HBO Max’s contents with the Discovery+ library will put the offerings on more equal footing to compete with Netflix and Hulu in this measure.
Platform demand shares for all series, U.S., Q2, 2022 (Parrot Analytics)
As of second quarter, Warner Bros. Discovery has the second-largest corporate share of demand for series that fall under its company umbrella. Its 17.8% demand share here trails Disney by less than 2%. This metric is a good way to assess the long-term viability of the top media companies as they look to consolidate their original content’s availability exclusively onto their own platforms. The merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery launched the new company into second place, leapfrogging Paramount and putting it within striking distance of Disney in the contest to become the dominant cross-platform media company with U.S. audiences.
Demand shares for series by corporate owner, U.S., Q2 2022 (Parrot Analytics)
Of course it isn’t just about having the most content, but ultimately the most effective content mix. Looking at the audiences of both HBO Max and Discovery+ series, it’s apparent that these two audiences are complementary and a combined streaming service will have the goods to attract viewers from across demographic segments.
HBO Max and Discovery+ audience demographics, U.S. (Parrot Analytics)
For example, while the audience for series on Discovery+ skews heavily female, the audience for series on HBO Max is slightly more male leaning than average. With respect to age cohorts, these two content libraries have the potential to draw in distinct audiences. Content on Discovery+ strongly over-indexes with people over 40-years-old, which will help fill in HBO Max’s large underperformance with this group.
Merging two streaming platforms like this will be a tricky undertaking but Warner Bros. Discovery has the extensive library of content and the right blend of shows to pull this off. Its rivals would be wise to stay on guard.
Parrot Analytics is the industry leader in global audience demand measurement. The company measures global supply and demand for entertainment, capturing over 2 billion audiences expressing demand for content and talent in over 100 languages, across all platforms, in 200+ countries. Parrot Analytics' partners use this knowledge to help better understand global supply and demand across all platforms to value content and talent, drive better production, distribution, acquisition and marketing decisions, as well as increase D2C growth and retention. For more information, see www.parrotanalytics.com.
Parrot Analytics
Parrot Analytics is the industry leader in global audience demand measurement. The company measures global supply and demand for entertainment, capturing over 2 billion audiences expressing demand for content and talent in over 100 languages, across all platforms, in 200+ countries. Parrot Analytics' partners use this knowledge to help better understand global supply and demand across all platforms to value content and talent, drive better production, distribution, acquisition and marketing decisions, as well as increase D2C growth and retention. For more information, see www.parrotanalytics.com.