The rumor mill had been swirling all week around the state of HBO Max after users noticed more than a few titles removed from the streaming service. Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed that it plans to merge HBO Max with Discovery+ as a unified streaming platform and it's set to launch in the summer of 2023. The name of the new service and pricing tiers are expected to be announced at a later date.

In Disney news, the House of Mouse is looking to tighten up censorship of content on its Disney+ Middle East platform. The streamer announced plans to align its offered content with regional regulatory requirements to ensure sensitive content isn't consumed. Titles being excluded from the region include Lightyear and Baymax for featuring LGBTQ characters.

It took an entire season but showrunners over at ABC's The View have finally landed on a permanent conservative co-host. Former Trump aide Alyssa Farrah Griffin is set to join Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Hines, Joy Behar, and Sunny Hostin. And after years of filling in and guest hosting, Ana Navarro has also been added as a permanent co-host as well. She'll be in twice a week to fill in for Goldberg and Behar. The moves come about a year after conservative host Meghan McCain left the show after four years.

New Music Friday has rolled around once again and on the heels of a new baby announcement, singer John Legend revealed that he will release his eighth studio album Legend on September 9. Ahead of the album's release, he dropped a new track titled All She Wanna Do featuring Saweetie. Among other featured artists that will appear on the album are Muni Long, Rick Ross, and Jazmine Sullivan.