WarnerMedia still plans to offer DC Universe as a standalone service as it prepares HBO Max for launch
- DC Universe will still be offered as a standalone service from WarnerMedia's upcoming streaming service, HBO Max, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Business Insider.
- HBO Max will include DC Universe programming, but there are no plans at this time to roll DC Universe into HBO Max.
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DC Universe and HBO Max will coexist.
DC Universe, which launched in September with original shows and an extensive digital-comics library, will still be offered as a standalone service, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Business Insider. This is despite the fact that HBO Max - WarnerMedia's upcoming, broader streaming platform - will include DC Universe programming.
READ MORE: HBO Max will be WarnerMedia's answer to Netflix, coming in the spring of 2020
WarnerMedia, the company formed in the merger between AT&T and Time Warner last year, announced on Tuesday that HBO Max will launch in spring 2020. It will include content from across the WarnerMedia library, including Warner Bros., DC, TNT, TBS, The CW, and Cartoon Network, as well as originals exclusive to the service.
It will also be the exclusive streaming home of the hit Warner Bros.-produced sitcom "Friends," which will leave Netflix at the end of the year.
Questions were raised about the future of DC Universe when its latest original series, "Swamp Thing," was abruptly canceled last month after airing just one episode despite positive reviews.
Speculation swirled that WarnerMedia would roll DC Universe into its streaming service. A source close to the "Swamp Thing" production told Business Insider last month that there was buzz on the show's set that this could happen.
But WarnerMedia has not announced any plans to do so.
DC Universe plans to provide updates on its original shows like "Titans" and "Doom Patrol" at San Diego Comic-Con later this month, and new shows like "Stargirl" and the animated "Harley Quinn" are in development.
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