HBO Max has removed almost 200 episodes of Sesasme Street, in a strategic blunder even worse than the cancelation of Batgirl. The WarnerMedia/Discovery deal has had a massive impact on the HBO Max streaming service. New CEO David Zaslav is pivoting away from a focus on streaming, and under his leadership, the company is writing off even almost-completed films in order to claim a tax write-off.
The most high-profile cancelation was Batgirl, which would have starred Leslie Grace as the DCEU's first Latino lead. Rumors swirl about the true reason for the movie's cancelation, with Zaslav insisting the studio wouldn't release anything they didn't have confidence in, but the striking contrast between Batgirl's treatment and that of The Flash has left many concerned. Meanwhile, that's only the movie people are talking about the most; many other films and TV shows have been tossed aside for tax write-offs as well. Almost 200 episodes of Sesame Street have been removed, to the open heartbreak of cast and crew members who'd hoped to share their work with their own children but now will not have the opportunity to do so.
This, surprisingly, may be the biggest mistake by Warner Bros. Discovery to date. Few streaming services publish accurate metrics indicating their performance, but third-party analytics firms carefully evaluate their performance. One such analytics firm, Samba TV, has just released its Q2 report on the state of streaming, and it points out that Sesame Street is HBO Max's biggest performer. A stunning 62 percent of HBO Max subscribers only watch one program, Sesame Street, revealing this is in fact the streaming service's biggest brand - making the decision to remove it one that could prove an even bigger mistake than canceling Batgirl.
HBO Max's Content Decisions Risk Damaging The Brand Permanently
Zaslav is implementing a new strategy for HBO Max, attempting to pivot away from children's content (explaining the removal of these 200 episodes, and spinoff The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo). Samba TV's analysis suggests the HBO Max cancelations are actually striking very close to the core brands, however. The danger lies in the possibility that parents and guardians will begin to hear about the Sesame Street episodes that were pulled, and conclude they cannot depend on HBO Max to continue providing the content they want to watch with their children. If they do so, there are rival streaming services that are aimed straight at these audiences, most notably Disney+.
It's interesting to note Samba TV's data cuts across reports from Warner Bros. Discovery, where sources have indicated they believe children's TV is simply not performing - even in the case of Sesame Street. The truth may well be rather more complicated; that Sesame Street brings in viewers, but that these viewers simply don't engage with the wider platform, and thus are no longer considered a corporate priority. There may be a case for this approach to the streaming wars, but it's a very difficult one, especially given the risk of lasting brand damage. From Batgirl to Sesame Street, HBO Max has been garnering negative press that cuts across almost every group of viewers. That can't continue for much longer.