Warner Bros Discovery culls 70 staff amid Batgirl, merger upheaval

The media giant behind the Batgirl has embarked on mass redundancies in the wake of upheaval at the company.

The studio behind the controversial benching of the Batgirl movie is embarking on mass redundancies.

Warner Bros Discovery will sack 70 staff from its HBO and HBO Max teams, according to American entertainment website Indiewire. The roles will primarily come from reality programming teams, as well positions in casting and acquisition.

It’s a tumultuous time for the media company which was merged earlier this year between Warner Bros and Discovery with the chief executive of the combined business, David Zaslav, looking to cut $US3 billion in costs.

The cull through the HBO and HBO Max teams is in line with the company’s plan to merge its two streaming platforms, HBO Max and Discovery+, which is to be rolled out next year in the US. Indiewire wrote that the eliminated positions are likely duplicate roles under the new structure.

During its earnings call earlier this month, Zaslav suggested the new streaming platform would be built on Discovery+’s technology platform.

The single platform, which has not been named, will feature HBO programming and the Warner Bros film archive as well as Discovery’s unscripted and reality series.

Neither HBO Max nor Discovery operate a direct-to-consumer streaming service in Australia. Their programming is accessible primarily through Binge and Foxtel*, which have distribution deals for its titles.

There are no confirmed plans Warner Bros Discovery is planning to launch its new streaming service in Australia. However it flagged that select markets in Asia-Pacific will be targeted for 2024.

The upheaval at HBO was pre-empted when it shelved the $US70 million DC Comics movie Batgirl, which had been commissioned specifically for streaming.

The film starring Leslie Grace and directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah had already wrapped filming when the cancellation came down. Early media reports suggested Batgirl had performed poorly with test audiences. But further reports hinted that Batgirl was scrapped because it was more lucrative for Warner Bros Discovery to write off the project as a tax break.

House of the Dragon is HBO Max’s big upcoming play.

Batgirl wasn’t the only HBO Max title to meet an embarrassing end. Scoob: Haunted Holiday met the same fate. Its production was said to have already spent $US40 million. The axings fuelled speculation something was afoot at HBO Max.

HBO (and its streaming brand HBO Max) has established itself globally as synonymous with quality TV programming after its bold slate including The Sopranos, The Wire, Sex and the City, Game of Thrones, Succession and True Detective.

The upcoming Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon is a high priority for HBO which will be banking on the franchise’s cultural cachet and built-in fanbase.

*Foxtel and Binge are majority owned by News Corp, publisher of this website