With each new day, it seems like content from HBO Max is being pushed up for no reason by Warner Bros. Discovery, and now another streaming player is following suit. As noted by its sister site Culture Pop ArtAustralian reality series, and US Netflix original series, Instant hotelA large portion of the episodes have been removed from the platform. As of last week, the entire first scene has been removed from the show, which consists of twelve episodes, the bulk of the series. Six episodes of the series’ second season remain on the platform, but that’s only 33% of the entire show, even if it’s an entire season. There is no information yet as to why the show was removed.
The series, for those unaware, is a reality competition show where homeowners work to transform their homes into “instant hotels,” think of where you might be staying when booking an Airbnb. After making their “Instant Hotels” perfect, they trade with other contestants and then vote on who is the best, with the winner finally being awarded a grand prize. Both seasons of the series were previously produced and aired prior to 2020, so the possibility of more episodes coming at a later date seems unlikely. As for why the show was removed, it seems very likely that the license for the show simply expired, which has happened in the past with “Netflix Originals.”
Why is HBO Max removing shows?
Modern day streaming fans are unfortunately getting used to hearing about movies and shows being pulled from streaming services. Although it occasionally happens on Netflix, largely exclusively when their licenses expire, HBO Max has been responsible for these shenanigans for the past year.
There are two main reasons HBO Max got rid of shows, and surprisingly, they didn’t boil down to money. One of the reasons Warner Bros. got rid of it. Discovery of offers is a tax incentive, by canning offers or even canceling them entirely, they can use as a tax write off. By eliminating the costs associated with hosting a show no one watches and then taking a break from the end result, WBD sees no problem with that, despite fans and creators protesting about what they’re even doing with the show.
The second reason is that WBD pulls content from HBO Max and instead sells it to another streaming device. In their eyes, shows or content that don’t lead to another service could be sold and possibly bring in more money than they might otherwise. However, it should be noted that WBD does not plan to sell these shows to Netflix or competitors, they intend to sell them to AVOD, and video-on-demand services such as Pluto TV.
(Cover photo by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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