While it was initially dubbed by some as a “merger” between HBO Max and Discovery+, the launch of the newly rebranded Max streaming service has shown that not quite everything has merged.
For starters, Discovery+ will continue to exist as its own standalone streaming service. That’s good news for customers who want to watch shows like Dr. Pimple Popper without paying the premium for Max.
But for would-be Max customers that have cancelled their Discovery+ subscriptions, they might be surprised to see some shows are missing from the new service.
Virtually all of the shows from the networks owned by A&E including its namesake network, History, and Lifetime haven’t migrated over to Max. This isn’t surprising considering that shows from A&E Networks have started popping up on Disney+ and Hulu (A&E Networks are partially owned by The Walt Disney Company).
But some of the older shows from Discovery-owned networks like Food Network, HGTV, and TLC are missing, too.
You won’t find shows like Cake Wars, Extreme Homes, My Strange Addiction, Ace of Cakes, or Extreme Cheapskates on Max.
Despite these omissions, you’ll still see plenty of the most popular shows from Discovery+ on Max such as 90 Day Fiancé (and its numerous spin-offs), Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, and House Hunters. Altogether, there are a reported 35,000 hours of content on Max giving it one of the largest libraries of any streaming service.
These cuts mirror the various shows and movies removed from HBO Max or never released at all as the company attempts to please its investors with profitable streaming platforms.
Under CEO David Zaslav, Max’s parent company Warner Bros Discovery has seen their streaming unit swing from a $654 million loss to a $50 million profit, even if in the process they’ve alienated some of their creative talent amidst the ongoing Writer’s Strike.
For fans of “Law” wildlife shows, Dark Woods Justice is not on MAX at this time. I will comment to add more shows as I find them.