With the imminent launch of the HBO Max streaming service on May 27th, one of the lingering questions has been what will become of the dedicated DC Universe streaming service.
The service launched in late 2018 and since then has premiered a handful of series – “Titans,” “Doom Patrol,” “Swamp Thing,” and animated shows like “Harley Quinn” and “Young Justice”. The service also has plenty of library titles of shows and films based on DC Comics properties, along with its big selling point of a huge library of digital comic books.
Much of the film and TV content though is expected to jump over to HBO Max, while several new DC Comics-inspired series in the works at WarnerMedia are all being developed specifically for HBO Max – not DC Universe.
Business Insider has just done an article about that question and according to their sources the DCU service isn’t a major priority for WarnerMedia and will struggle to grow a subscriber base. In addition, those working inside are apparently uncertain about the service’s future as media companies are all about consolidating their content for their own services these days.
CG42 consultant Stephen Beck tells the outlet: “No doubt AT&T is looking to use all of its assets, DC being a critical component, to make HBO Max a player in the competitive streaming landscape… Consumers are ultimately going to become more picky around the subscriptions they have. [For WarnerMedia], they will think ‘DC enthusiasts watch other things we create, too.’ They’re not in the business to create a suite of standalone offerings. They’re in the business of creating a mega platform.”
“Stargirl” is the only new series that has been announced for DC Universe this year, but it will share airing of its episodes with The CW network the next day. The second season of “Doom Patrol” is also expected to be on both HBO Max and DC Universe but that show has stalled production due to the shutdown.
The report’s sources say they expect changes will come but it won’t happen immediately as there are commitments and funding in place so DC Universe is going to be around for at least another year or two.
