Variety: HBO, Max Marketing Team Hit With Layoffs

Story from Variety:

Layoffs have hit the streaming marketing team at HBO and Max.

A source close to the situation told Variety on Wednesday that the cuts are in the double digits, but no specific number was available at the time of publication. The insider says the content division is not impacted by these layoffs.

The layoffs mark the most recent downsizing move at Warner Bros. Discovery brands, which have been shedding employees since the merged company was formed in April 2022. But these layoffs specifically come on the heels of a rough quarter for the David Zaslav-led company’s streaming business — and Hollywood’s streaming industry overall — as well as amid the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s combined HBO Max-Discovery+ streaming service Max launched May 23. Investors had been warned by Warner Bros. Discovery in Q1 to expect a drop in Q2 streaming subscribers, as 4 million streaming customers were subscribed to both Discovery+ and HBO Max and some Discovery+ subs were likely to cancel that service and switch to the rebranded Max.

On Aug. 3, Warner Bros. Discovery reported it had lost 1.8 million streaming subscribers from April 1-June 30, the quarter during which it launched new combined streamer Max, with streaming subscribers across HBO, Max and Discovery+ now totaling 95.8 million.

In that earnings report, the company also said it is now increasing its post-WarnerMedia-Discovery merger synergy target to more than $5 billion over three years, which signaled more layoffs were likely about to hit following cuts to the cable group back in June.

Representatives for HBO and Max have not yet responded to request for comment regarding the layoffs.