Showtime and Paramount+ are in the process of merging into a single service with the unwieldy name Paramount+ with Showtime. In preparation for this integration, Showtime is also purging content. And shows with some big names attached are included. Showtime isn't kidding when they say Kidding starring Jim Carey has to go. Crime drama American Rust starring Jeff Daniels will be left to rust. Well, not really. It is getting a second season on Amazon's terribly-named Freevee service. On Becoming a God in Central Florida, a dark comedy starring Kirsten Dunst is also being pulled.
In August 2022, Variety reported that HBO Max had removed 36 titles, including 20 originals. HBO Max "attributed the decision to the pending merge of the platform with Discovery+." Several of the dropped shows were family or children's programming. AMC dropped the legal drama 61st Street even though the second season had already finished filming.
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So why do streaming services remove shows from their platforms? And why would they remove the originals they paid so much to create. There are a few reasons.
Taxes, Taxes, Taxes
When HBO Max canceled the Batgirl movie, taxes were a major motivator. James M. Bandoblu, Jr., a partner at New York-based law firm Hodgson Russ told Newsweek, "By shelving the Batgirl film, Warner Bros. will be able to reduce the loss incurred in producing Batgirl against its net income from other movies. Thus, the loss from Batgirl will reduce taxable income." Warner Bros. didn't think the movie would do well, so they decided to cut their losses.Deadline made a similar point about AMC dropping content. "AMC Network said today it will take write-downs for up to $475 million as it restructures its business to cut costs." AMC calls these decisions “strategic programming assessments.”
The Hollywood Reporter also lists tax write-offs as a reason to remove original content. Another is the potential to sell the rights to a show and license it to a third party. An example of this is moving American Rust to Freevee. "Removing completed seasons allows Showtime and their competitors to take a tax write-down on content as well as shop titles that are owned in-house to third-party buyers as many seek to monetize content that underperformed."
Reducing Costs
Another big financial motivator is that by dropping titles from their platforms, streaming providers no longer have to shell out money to the casts, crews, and creators of low-performing content. When streamers drop poorly performing titles, they save money that would have been paid out as residuals to actors and writers.Removing Clutter
Lastly, many services want to declutter by removing content few subscribers want to watch. HBO Max acquired Sesame Street in 2019 as part of a five-year deal, but children's content, including Sesame Street, isn't doing well on the platform. There is little reason to continue hosting content viewers aren't interested in watching.Netflix is said to have a “discovery” problem because there is so much content on the platform that it's hard to find their best stuff. Streaming services don't want to get a reputation for having a lot of low-value shows and movies. Households are increasingly balking at paying high costs for cable and satellite services that are filled with rarely viewed channels. Every subscriber pays for those channels that they don't watch. The same is true for streaming services. Subscribers are paying for low-performing content they don't watch. By removing poor performers, streaming platforms can cut costs, which ultimately benefits subscribers.
