'Doctor Who,' 'Luther' & Other Shows Moving To Stream On HBO Max

Doctor Who streaming is moving house once again, from Amazon Prime to Warner Brothers' forthcoming HBO Max service, as the streaming wars engulf us all.

Streaming has become the next big thing in media consumption, whether anyone likes it or not. The film industry may fight tooth and nail against the idea of treating streaming services as something on par with movie theater releases. But when Martin Scorsese is taking The Irishman to Netflix, starring names like Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Al Pacino, the war is already lost. There are streaming options for public television enthusiasts thanks to online benefits like PBS Passport that both help support your local station and offer great content in return. And CEO and president Paula Kerger confirmed recently that a deal was now in place with YouTube TV to stream PBS programming. She also hinted more were in the works in order to "bring PBS into as many houses as possible."

As streaming becomes more central, the rights to air these shows is the next battleground, as content becomes a key factor in motivating people to sign up. Netflix has already gotten out ahead on this, strapping in series from BBC and ITV which were once only seen on PBS. By making "Netflix Original Series" deals for shows like Great British Baking Show and Bodyguard, it ensures that, whatever happens in the future, those series can't be pulled by the production house that created them to become fodder for someone else's future streaming service. They belong to Netflix.