Warner Bros. Discovery is shutting down cable networks HBO Family, ThrillerMax, MovieMax and OuterMax.
The move, reported earlier this week by Cord Cutters News, was confirmed to Deadline by a person familiar with the decision.
Charter Spectrum systems informed their customers of the impending change. “At Spectrum, we are committed to providing you with exceptional service and want to alert you of changes before they happen,” the distributor told subscribers. “Effective on or after August 15, 2025, HBO Family, ThrillerMax, MovieMax, & OuterMax will cease programming and will no longer be available.”
The move is the latest concession to the shrinkage of the traditional pay-TV bundle. HBO Family, for example, once had a clear reason for being during the linear era. In an on-demand, streaming world, though, its lineup of long-tail movies like Dolphin Tale, Spy Kids or Beetlejuice Beetlejuice have diminishing value for distributors. Non-ad-supported linear networks are also endangered species lately, with even a larger player, Starz, having just 30% of its total subscriptions in linear.
Aside from WBD, major cable network parents including NBCUniversal and Disney have also unplugged cable networks. The business is also being separated out from the rest of media portfolios given the ongoing decline in subscribers and revenue. Despite the secular downturn, the networks remain lucrative assets, throwing off considerable cash flow and profit.
Longtime industry analyst Craig Moffett, in a report earlier this week, took note of a potential leveling off in pay-TV subscriber levels. Although total pay-TV penetration has fallen to 1987 levels, he believes first-quarter data from distributors shows the industry may be “finding the long-imagined bottom.”
