western world was removed from HBO Max earlier this weekalong with several other shows like Raised by wolves and The Nevers, but they won’t be gone forever. Instead, these series are licensed to various streaming services, with a particular focus on the free ones like The Roku Channel or Freevee. according to HBO parent company Warner Bros. Discovery.
These streaming services, known in the industry as FAST (“free ad-supported streaming”) services, allow users to watch movies and shows without paying subscription fees. With smaller budgets for original content, products like Freevee, Roku Channel, Tubi, and Pluto TV often rely on licensing deals with other production companies, which is a niche Warner Bros. Discovery hopes can fill with the removed shows on its own service.
Of course, for anyone paying attention, this is all part of a larger cost-cutting plan for Warner Bros. Discovery that has been playing out over the past few months. The cost-cutting fever began when Warner Bros. merged with Discovery and CEO David Zaslav took over. Under Zaslav’s supervision, Warner has launched long-in-development projects such as bat girl
Here’s a full list of things removed in HBO Max’s latest cull, which the company says will make a reappearance on FAST platforms in the future:
- western world
- The Nevers
- raised by wolves
- FBoy island
- Legendary
- Search for Magic Mike
- leader of the class
- The wife of the time traveler
Warner Bros. Discovery has not yet announced which platforms these series will be moved to or when they may be available again.