Last year, media behemoths AT&T (parent company of WarnerMedia) and Discovery Inc. shook up the entertainment industry when they merged into Warner Bros. Discovery. The $43 billion deal combined several well-known brands under one umbrella, including CNN, TNT, HGTV, Food Network, Animal Planet and the streaming services HBO Max and Discovery+. The merger didn’t just make waves in the business world. The new company axed several beloved shows, including “Minx,” “Westworld” and “The Time Traveler’s Wife.” They went beyond just cancellation, however, and ultimately elected to remove these titles from HBO Max entirely. Warner Bros. Discovery also shelved the almost-completed DC Comics “Batgirl” film. Eventually, the canceled shows got picked up by free ad-supported television (FAST) platforms and HBO went on to greenlight new projects; it seemed that things were calming down. However, on May 23, 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery blended HBOMax and Discovery+ into a new service: Max.
It’s no secret that HBO Max and Discovery+ cater to different audiences. Former Discovery executive David Zazlav, who is now the president of Warner Bros. Discovery, commented on the supposed fundamental differences between the two platforms: HBO Max is “male skew, scripted, lean-in, appointment viewing” programming, while Discovery+ is the home of “female skew, unscripted, lean-back, comfort viewing” shows. Unnecessary gender divide aside, this kind of makes sense. For two decades, HBO has been synonymous with prestige television. It’s known for classic dramas like “The Sopranos” and “The Wire.” Discovery has a catalog of reality shows such as “90 Day Fiancé” and “Fixer Upper.” An obvious difference that Zazlav left unmentioned is that HBO Max is much more popular than Discovery+. While Discovery+ had 22 million subscribers in late 2021, HBOMax tripled that figure to 73.8 million. HBO Max properties like “Succession” and “Barry” are regularly nominated for Emmy awards, while Discovery’s shows haven’t reached anywhere near that level of acclaim. Since HBO Max has more clout, why is the company cutting its name?
To figure out why Warner Bros. Discovery won’t be carrying over the HBO name to its new streaming service, it’s important to understand the company’s vision for Max. According to Variety, Max will be available in three tiers of paid ad-supported and ad-free versions, with plans ranging from $9.99/month to $19.99/month. The platform will have both HBO Max and Discovery+ titles. Zazlav also ambitiously projects that “more than 40 new titles and TV show seasons [will hit Max] every month.” This ultra-maximized production schedule will probably mean a shift toward more unscripted content, especially considering the current writer’s strike.
Due to Zazlav’s history as a Discovery executive, it makes sense that he would push reality as a major focus for Max. “Succession” and “Barry,” two of HBO’s biggest prestige dramas, are ending this year. The service expects to reach similar success with scripted dramas still currently in production, but the $80 million money pit, “The Idol” proves that rocky times are ahead. A pivot away from HBO’s prestige drama reputation kind of makes sense right now.
Warner Bros. Discovery executives agree. CEO of global streaming and games JB Perette explained the name change: “We all love HBO, and it’s a brand that has been built over five decades [to represent] edgy, groundbreaking entertainment for adults. But it’s not exactly where parents would most eagerly drop off their kids.” Perette believes that HBO’s reputation means that users are underappreciating the kid-focused content on HBOMax. As his position indicates, Perette is one of the leaders in Warner Bros. Discovery’s mission to appeal to wider audiences with diverse visual content. He wants the company to focus on movies, TV, gaming and toys, not just one-hour television dramas. He makes a compelling argument for preserving the exclusivity of the HBO brand: “HBO is not TV. HBO is HBO. It needs to stay that way. Which is why we will privilege it in the product experience and also not push it to the breaking point by forcing it to take on the full breadth of this content proposition.” Since HBO will still be operational under Warner Bros. Discovery and its content will be available on Max, dropping the name theoretically shouldn’t hurt its programming.
On the other hand, some viewers aren’t so sure. Warner Bros. Discovery is ballooning, and it’s possible that this wide-lens focus will dilute the quality of the content that HBO is known for delivering. The new mega-corporation wants to do more than make movies and shows—they’re interested in lifestyle tie-ins. For example, the upcoming show “Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge” is an HGTV home-renovation series that references Greta Gerwig’s upcoming Mattel-approved “Barbie” movie. Fans are excited about the crossover: “I feel like this was specifically made for me because this is the kind of nonsense i luv,” tweeted @blueheartbeat0. However, this show marks the increasingly blurred lines among branded IP, studio films with original screenplays and Zazlav’s ideal reality TV content farm. In this brave new world, there are no movies or TV shows — just an amalgamation of interconnected, audiovisual media content.
Warner Bros. Discovery is already hemorrhaging money since the merger, and it may not be a great idea to pursue such a large-scale change in strategy with Max. Viewers probably aren’t thrilled at the idea of paying $19.99/month for 4K video streaming, especially when the future probably holds a dearth of quality scripted content. However, Max will still offer a lot of shows and movies that people are looking forward to. Major theatrical releases like the previously mentioned “Barbie” movie and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” will eventually find a home on the platform after their summer 2023 releases. “The White Lotus,” “The Last of Us“ and “House of the Dragon“ are all renewed for new seasons, most of which will probably premiere in 2024 or 2025. The third season of “Euphoria“ is set for a similar release date. DC Comics is producing a new show about Colin Farrell’s character “The Penguin,” who appeared in “The Batman” (2022). Finally, “Harry Potter” fans eagerly await the premiere of a new reboot series helmed by J.K. Rowling. All in all, Max will have a lot to offer viewers. It just might be hard to Google the name of the service.
