Westworld, axed HBO Max shows will stream for free on other services

Westworld This show was removed from HBO Max this week along with many other programs like Wolves raised themAnd Nevers, but they won’t be gone forever. According to Warner Bros. parent HBO, the series will instead be licensed to other streaming services with an emphasis on free channels like The Roku Channel and Freevee. Discovery.

These streaming services, referred to in the industry as FAST (“free ad-supported streaming”) services, allow users to watch movies and shows without subscription fees. Freevee’s Roku Channel and Tubi TV have smaller budgets to produce original content. This means that they often use licensing agreements from other companies. Warner Bros. is in this niche. Discovery is hoping it can fill with the shows it’s removed from its own service.

This is part of Warner Bros’ larger cost-cutting strategy, anyone who pays attention will see. This is the story of Discovery, which has been unfolding over several months. When Warner Bros. and Discovery merged, the fever for cutting expenses began. CEO David Zaslav was appointed. Under Zaslav’s watch, Warner has canceled long-in-development projects like Batgirl, brought in James Gunn and Peter Safran as the studio’s new heads of the DC Universe, and removed many series and movies from HBO Max in order to license them later or just cut down residuals and overhead.

Here’s a full list of the things removed in HBO Max’s latest culling, which according to the company will reappear on FAST platforms in the future:

• Westworld
• Nevers
• Wolves Raised
• FBoy Island
• Legendary
• Finding Magic Mike
• Head of Class
• The Time Traveler’s Wife

Warner Bros. Discovery is yet to reveal which platforms they will be moving to and when they may become available for viewing again.