Warner Bros. Discovery announced that it’s renaming its flagship streaming service from Max… to HBO Max.
The Big Picture: Yes, that thing you’re feeling is déjà vu. WBD CEO David Zaslav’s about-face on the name of the entertainment conglomerate’s streamer represents a major vibe shift in the film and TV ecosystem — people want better content, not more content.
Behind the Change: It turns out there are few brands with as much cultural currency as HBO.
The name will officially change back this summer, signaling a less-is-more strategy.
It’s a reversal from Zaslav’s original pitch for the service, which was about scaling the library by combining Warner Bros. film and TV assets with Discovery’s reality content.
The company said other streamers are “filling the more basic needs with volume” (read: Netflix and Amazon), so WBD is marketing the service around its marquee titles.
And there’s nothing more marquee, both domestically and internationally, than HBO.
Last Time (Please): Over the past several years, Max has become one of the top premium streaming services globally, trailing only Netflix, Prime Video, and the Disney+ bundle in subscribers — with 122.3 million and an EBITDA of $339 million as of last week’s quarterly earnings report. In fact, Zaslav said Max… err HBO Max… is expected to be the growth engine for the company moving forward.
Prediction: Considering the re-emphasis on the streamer’s blue-chip HBO brand, it’s possible that Zaslav could be setting up a spin-off of Discovery and other declining cable assets from Warner Bros. to help pay down the corporation’s nagging debt load.
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