A yr in the past this week, one of many greatest mergers in historical past lastly closed. It was the wedding of Discovery and WarnerMedia, a $43 billion deal that shaped what’s now generally known as Warner Bros. Discovery. It wasn’t lengthy earlier than the axes fell. Just a few weeks later, administration shut down the information streaming service CNN+. There have been hundreds of layoffs. Then, in a transfer that shocked even shut observers, it canned the Batgirl movie and began pulling beloved exhibits like Westworld from HBO Max. 

All of this dangerous information got here with guarantees: New CEO David Zaslav needed the studio to be making higher DC films. And to maintain it centered on theatrical releases, the corporate would merge HBO Max and Discovery+ into one monster streaming service. At the time, WIRED fretted that it marked the approaching demise of HBO Max, which had shortly change into one of the vital beloved streaming companies round. Today the corporate revealed that the service, which is now merely known as Max, will launch on May 23. Friends, the top is close to. 

As he took the stage throughout a press occasion to announce Max, Zaslav repeated the brand new service’s catchphrase, “the one to watch,” many instances. The thought, he stated, was that the melding of all the firm’s mental property would make the streaming service a house to Batman, Barbie, and Bugs Bunny. Also, House of the Dragon and House Hunters. That’s true, but in addition, that’s TV—not HBO Max. 

Warner Bros. Discovery’s honchos clearly know this. Even as they touted Max as a spot with one thing for the entire household, in addition they, within the phrases of worldwide streaming president JB Perrette, needed to “privilege” HBO’s choices on the brand new streaming service. At the identical time, execs promoted crossover content material like Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge, a brand new HGTV home-renovation sequence that’s, you guessed it, tied to the discharge of Greta Gerwig’s upcoming Barbie film. Previously, a winking tackle an iconic toy like Barbie would’ve been proper at residence on HBO Max; having it subsequent to a reno actuality sequence looks like cognitive dissonance.  

Ironically, that is the precise confusion Warner Bros. Discovery was aiming to keep away from. During the presentation, Perrette referred to the streaming trade as a young person nonetheless figuring itself out, noting that buyers seek advice from this time as an “era of peak confusion” in the case of what service is finest for them. Having one streamer with a plethora of Warner Bros. and Discovery content material on it can enhance the quantity of choices these viewers have, however it stays unclear whether or not it can assist them make decisions. 

Consumer selection is a little bit of a sensitive topic for Warner Bros. Discovery today. It wasn’t talked about or alluded to throughout the presentation, however late final week 4 lawmakers—Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Representative Joaquin Castro of Texas, Representative David Cicilline of Rhode Island, and Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington—sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Justice Department antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter calling on them to research the Warner Bros. and Discovery merger. The union, they wrote, seemingly allowed the corporate to “adopt potentially anticompetitive practices that reduce consumer choice and harm workers in affected labor markets” (i.e. Hollywood).