In a turnaround for the streaming wars, Warner Bros. Discovery is in negotiations to license a package of library HBO titles to Netflix.
If a deal were to go through, it would cement the sea-change in content distribution strategy afoot at Warner Bros. Discovery under the David Zaslav regime. HBO has licensed library content in the past — a deal with Netflix would not be groundbreaking per se, but it is notable in the era of pitched competition among the largest media companies to build direct-to-consumer streaming platforms. Netflix, the upstart outsider from Los Gatos, has been the pace car for television’s transition over the past decade.
Among the titles under discussion are the Issa Rae comedy “Insecure.” The show premiered on HBO in 2016 and ran for five seasons until 2021. The deal is believed to be non-exclusive to Netflix, meaning that the titles would still be available on Max, Warner Bros. Discovery’s rebranded streaming service that was formerly named HBO Max. Netflix declined to comment. A representative for HBO could not immediately be reached for comment late Tuesday.
In January, Warner Bros. Discovery made licensing moves by partnering with Roku and Tubi to launch free, ad-supported channels with HBO shows. The FAST channels included all seasons of shows like “Westworld,” “Raised by Wolves,” “Legendary,” “FBoy Island,” “The Nevers,” “Finding Magic Mike,” “Head of the Class,” “The Time Traveler’s Wife” and more. In 2014, HBO and Amazon reached an exclusive licensing deal to stream shows like “the Sopranos,” “Boardwalk Empire,” “True Blood” and more on Amazon Prime Video.
More than 10 years ago, edited-for-TV versions of “Sex and the City” on TBS, “The Sopranos” on A&E, “Entourage” on Spike TV and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” on TV Guide Channel were all syndicated by HBO.
TBS and A&E also aired edited-for-TV versions of “Sex and the City” and “The Sopranos,” while Spike TV ran “Entourage.”
In recent months, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO Zaslav has vowed to open up the Warner Bros. and HBO library for licensing and windowing beyond WBD platforms. That’s a big shift from the previous regime’s focus on channeling the company’s top content to build up what was HBO Max and as of last month was relaunched as Max. But for Warner Bros., selling TV shows and movies for top dollar to expose them to audiences around the world was simply business as usual, until the TV industry’s streaming wars revved up in 2018 and 2019. Now, Warner Bros. Discovery can’t afford to turn away the licensing opportunities that are available for shows like “Insecure,” which would undoubtedly reach millions of new viewers on Netflix’s platform.
The Netflix negotiations come nearly a year after Warner Bros. Discovery removed titles from HBO Max in an effort to reduce the high cost of maintaining the Max platform. It also comes amidst layoffs at the company’s domestic cable group.
Deadline was first to report the news of Netflix-WB Discovery talks.
