Hollywood Reporter: Magnolia Network Shows Go to HBO Max and CNN Originals Go to Discovery+ as Warner Bros. Discovery Keeps Streaming Services Separate, for Now

Story from Hollywood Reporter:

Warner Bros. Discovery ultimately plans to launch a unified streaming service, one that will carry the full breadth and depth of content from the likes of HBO, Warner Bros. and Discovery Inc.

For now, though, the company’s existing streaming services HBO Max and Discovery+ will remain their own products, and on Thursday the company took its first step in using its larger content library to beef up those two offerings.

For starters, the company said that “select” programming from Magnolia Network, the joint venture between Discovery and Chip and Joanna Gaines, would launch on HBO Max in September. That will include a new series, Fixer Upper: The Castle, which sees the hosts fixing up their own home.

The programming shift is the first time that legacy Discovery programming will be added to HBO Max. The content will continue to be available on Discovery+.

At the same time, the company also said Thursday that CNN will get its own “hub” on Discovery+, with CNN original series like Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy and Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown joining the service. Some HLN programming and CNN original films will also be available on Discovery+, with other CNN programming (like Chris Wallace’s upcoming show) being available on HBO Max.

“True crime, food and travel programming are among the most watched genres for Discovery+ viewers, so these titles from CNN will fit right in with our best-in-class collection of unscripted content,” said JB Perrette, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery streaming, in a statement.

In a statement of his own, CNN CEO Chris Licht said the deal would “expand the reach” of CNN’s content.

CNN originals had been part of CNN+, the cable news channel’s ill-fated subscription streaming service. Warner Bros. Discovery shut the service down just a few weeks after it launched.

Warner Bros. Discovery executives are expected to detail their long-term streaming plans on the company’s earnings call Thursday, though the programming moves suggest that no merger of Discovery+ and HBO Max is imminent.

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