I could imagine bought in franchises like GOT, Dune and Last of us being an opt out.
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Apple TV Could Gain Major Warner Bros. Titles via Acquisition
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I think HBO's best days are behind it. A prime example is how "True Detective" went downhill after S1. "Night Country" originally was a completely separate story until HBO decided to make it part of TD with eye-rolling plot stretches such as Travis and Rusty. "Lovecraft Country" was as weird as "John From Cincinnati."
"Euphoria" seems to be in a contest with "Stranger Things" for series with the youngest cast that goes the longest between seasons.
I agree.
The more I think about it the more HBO is just coasting on that brand at this point.
Agreed. In fact, I think the turning point was about 20 years ago, when it passed on "Mad Men," a decision that its then CEO later said was "inexcusable" and due to "hubris."
That said, I think the addition of Discovery was semi-smart because although it was at odds with the HBO brand, people who love Food, HGTV, Magnolia, et al could get a year of all of those channels for less than what they were paying for a month of cable/sat. For them, HBO Max effectively could serve as their cable/sat provider, with enough money left over to add AMC or whatever else a la carte. I wonder how many subs HBO Max picked up from the addition of Discovery.
I never say no to anything, but we're not actively looking at buying any company of any size. We like building things ourselves.
This is the biggest furfy ever!
- Siri
- Beats
- AI
- Live Spacial
- Apples C1 came from Intel research
Can I go on?
This is the biggest furfy ever!
- Siri
- Beats
- AI
- Live Spacial
- Apples C1 came from Intel research
Can I go on?
My hope that is due to David Zaslav's (poor) leadership and if Apple picks up HBO, they would allow them to return to making actual "prestige" content like they used to.
HBO's success was mostly under Richard Plepler who I think is still signed with Apple TV. He left HBO around the time AT&T came in and said they weren't making enough money. Richard knows you focus on making good quality shows and the money will follow. That was the same approach of Steve Jobs, make good quality products and the money will follow.
There would go all the Blu-ray/DVD releases, back catalog stuff included, and Warner holds a ton of the good stuff. If normal production would continue, alongside the AppleTV program expansion, then I would be OK with it and would actually think about subscribing as well. This would change the AppleTV a ton compared to what it is today.
And then they need to drop HBO from the name HBO Max again and then rebrand the service to iMax.
So that way I can watch movies filmed in IMAX on the service iMax on all of my iMacs.
So that way I can watch movies filmed in IMAX on the service iMax on all of my iMacs.
Apple as a company aren’t going to do it because it’s not worth the investment long term for them if they purchase it then at the start it will give them a spike but over time it will decline.
That’s why they don’t have an issue with sports rights because that’s a short term deal to boost subscribers
There is no value to them as a company to purchase things like this from a business point of view and that’s how Tim Cook will view it
As this is his strategy
Apple are not going to purchase anything like this or things like Netflix and such because it will cost to much money long term for them
These stores are consistently put out there as way to look as if are at the forefront of things so then it builds traffic and gives the impression that they have the finger in a lot of pies but that’s not the reality
I could see Apple wanting Cartoon Network specifically and willing to pay a lot for that, but how much of that catalog is the older low-res full-screen poor-audio? Doubt Apple would tolerate that on their service.
Also, afaik, nudity is a big no-no at Apple Studios, so HBO/Discovery content is probably dead to them.
Also, afaik, nudity is a big no-no at Apple Studios, so HBO/Discovery content is probably dead to them.
In the beginning, streaming was about breaking up the cable companies with content that folks could pick and choose. Slowly, but surely, the streaming companies began consolidating. Now the variety will be less and the expense more.
Even if Apple didn't acquire all of Warner Bros, picking up HBO would be a massive catch for Apple TV, immediately backfilling its library with a popular back catalog and possibly even renaming their streaming service "HBO" that would give it the immediate brand recognition and reputation to go up against Netflix and Disney.
Beyond HBO, owning Warner Bros.' DC Comics IP would put Apple up against Disney's Marvel. James Gunn's more optimistic comic world that he started with Superman would be a great fit. Apple would also get Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and the rest of the Loony Toons, another pairing against Disney's Mickey and Donald Duck.
Warner Bros was F1's theatre distributor so that would be a good way to immediately expand their distribution. It's the other assets like broadcast TV and CNN that I don't think would fit Apple's culture nor do I think they'd want to touch any news network in this environment.
Beyond HBO, owning Warner Bros.' DC Comics IP would put Apple up against Disney's Marvel. James Gunn's more optimistic comic world that he started with Superman would be a great fit. Apple would also get Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and the rest of the Loony Toons, another pairing against Disney's Mickey and Donald Duck.
Warner Bros was F1's theatre distributor so that would be a good way to immediately expand their distribution. It's the other assets like broadcast TV and CNN that I don't think would fit Apple's culture nor do I think they'd want to touch any news network in this environment.
If Apple acquires the company, they’ll retain everyone’s positions, but if Paramount takes over, all those jobs are at risk.
I hope it’s Apple because it would provide them with access to a vast amount of content, not to mention more sports content.
I believe that if Warner Bros. Discovery cannot sell the entire company, they will divide its back catalog of films and television shows from cable and HBO Max companies and sell them separately. Either way the company is to sold off by a target date of April 2026.
I hope it’s Apple because it would provide them with access to a vast amount of content, not to mention more sports content.
I believe that if Warner Bros. Discovery cannot sell the entire company, they will divide its back catalog of films and television shows from cable and HBO Max companies and sell them separately. Either way the company is to sold off by a target date of April 2026.
I agree, Apple would be way better off than Paramount-Skydance. And even though the Trump administration supports Paramount wanting to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, everyone else doesn't, what with David Zaslav declining their bids along with the Writers' Guild being against it. I go into detail here:
It's extremely common to break off parts of a company you don't want. They could have bought Paramount for it's deep back catalog and spun off the broadcast divisions or made it condition of the sale that they become their own business unit. I've been part of companies that this has happened to and it was kind of funny to see our paystubs change 3 times in a year.
I still think Amazon may be in the lead to take over the Warner Brothers catalog, except for HBO. I wouldn't be surprised that WBD keeps HBO because it's considered a premium operation.
My update on how Warner Bros. Discovery is actually only CONSIDERING putting themselves up for sale, and the unsolicited offers currently made don't seem to interest them...