No, everyone is starting doing this (again) now. I'm no expert, but I'll try to explain it the best I can...
The original promise, like five years ago, was that each of these streaming platforms was going to host their studio's/company's entire historical libraries for eternity. So everything Warner Bros. has ever made would be exclusively on HBO Max from now until forever, everything Paramount has ever made would be exclusively on Paramount+ from now until forever, etc. To the point where, for instance, say in like 2015 or whenever, Warner Bros. had licensed the Harry Potter potter franchise to Universal so Universal could play it on NBC (NBC is owned by Universal). But then when HBO Max launched, WB bought it back so Harry Potter could live exclusively on HBO Max and no where else. We saw a lot of that kind of thing happening, so everything eventually became siloed off under its original owners. Everyone built up their libraries in that regard, and then competed to get the most users.
Fast forward to last year, though, when basically everyone realized around the same time that was the dumbest business decision ever. Because then you're *only* depending on subscription revenue and nothing else, which is why we're seeing all these streamers losing tons of money now. Basically, big tech duped everyone because all they care about is growth, but then when the shine wore off, and every streamer essentially started plateauing in terms users, everyone realized that profitability of course is what really matters. Which is like... duh.
So then two things happened... 1) all of these streamers started utilizing ads recently, offering an ad-supported tier, thus bringing in a lot more income that way, and 2) they've gone back to embracing how it used to be when studios would license their movies/shows/franchises to other studios for a two-year deal here, a three-year deal here, etc. The latter being a massive source of income, one that made everyone rich back during cable era.
In other words, Warner Bros can make way more money off of Harry Potter if they license it out, rather than having it as one of 20 franchises exclusive to Max, that just sits on the platform for eternity, where they can't really measure if it's leading to more sign-ups or not.
It's early days, so we're seeing the less popular stuff being licensed out for now - they're starting small - but soon it'll be like it used to be where you'll see Harry Potter on Peacock, something like The Matrix trilogy (also a WB property) on Paramount+, etc. New Warner Bros. movies and shows will always *premiere* on Max. Same for new content from all studios premiering on their respective apps. The difference now is, those movies and shows won't live on the same apps for eternity. Dune: Part Two will premiere in the theater, it'll then go to Max like 90 days later, will live on Max for a year or two, but then WB will license it out to another streamer. They just make way more money that way. It might be slightly more annoying for the consumer, but is WAY better for the health of the industry overall.
