Later this summer, streaming service Max (formerly HBO Max) will become HBO Max, formerly Max. Warner Bros. Discovery announced Wednesday that it will reshape its flagship streaming platform into a name that actually makes sense. So welcome back to HBO Max…for a long time.
When WBD first launched HBO Max in 2020, it had its own naming bullshit. The platform will target several other streaming products the company offered at the time, including HBO GO and HBO, as well as Warner Bros. At the time the parent company AT&T’s own streaming media offered AT&T TV. So, while HBO Max is a solution, I’m still confused about which platform is flagship. It made almost more sense to discard the HBO name and take it off immediately with Max, although they would lose the HBO brand that attracted so many people.
Instead, they chose to kill HBO in the 2023 name, just to reach MAX, to point out that the platform offers more than what the HBO program offers. At the time, the company was opening up its content products, providing a soft hub for kid- and family-friendly options.
Does that work? It’s hard to say, but the context clue will tell us no. Earlier this year, the company announced it would abandon many of the high-profile children’s programming, including getting rid of Looney Tunes and opting not to renew its deal with Sesame Street. Verge notes that it also transformed its brand from being called “Max Originals” to calling it “HBO Originals.” So it seems like nothing they are trying to associate the biggest name with.
So now we’re back to where we started – with HBO Max. Obviously, executives can’t just admit that they changed the name in 2023, so it’s about wallpaper for the decision-making process. There is no “bad, our bad.” Let’s talk about why this happens. This is David Zaslav, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, via a press release: “The strong growth we see in the global streaming service builds around our programming quality. Today, we are bringing back to the media on behalf of the highest quality brands in media to further accelerate growth in the coming years.”
Ah, yes, that’s a good thing. This is all part of the plan, isn’t it?
