The full effects of the WarnerMedia and Discovery merger are yet to manifest, but the latest measure might be getting prepped for its reveal soon as HBO Max and Discovery Plus’ rebranded name is believed to be just “Max”.
Warner’s corporate reshuffling took Hollywood by storm earlier this year, with the new company’s handling of the DC Universe making for one of its most talked about strategies, as James Gunn was brought in from Marvel to lead the studio's new superhero era. However, some other details had been lined up as guaranteed changes, including the fact that it didn’t make sense for the newly formed Warner Bros. Discovery to maintain two different streaming services, which is why HBO Max’s death and rebirth had been foreshadowed for a while.
Now, according to a new report from CNBC, Warner Bros. executives are close to making their final decision on the new name which would simply see HBO Max drop the HBO part to become “Max”, although corporate lawyers are still vetting the name changing process. At the moment, the project is being handled internally under the “BEAM” codename, but no actual call has been made for "Max" to take over, with the service currently scheduled to launch in the United States in spring 2023 as stated in the company’s latest earnings call, which took place this past November.
The same source mentions that “Max” would seek to adopt a similar user experience to Disney Plus, where subscribers are presented with a selection of Warner Bros. Discovery’s brands, which now include the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Food Network and CNN, on top of Warner's own vast MultiVersus library. Current CEO David Zaslav has not been afraid to make drastic changes, as shown by his killing of CNN+ barely over a month after the service launched, as well as the cancelation of the $90m Batgirl movie due to alleged tax motives.
Anyone wondering why Warner Bros. Discovery isn’t exactly settled on “Max” might be right to point out that the new streaming platform dropping the HBO name isn’t exactly the most popular decision, as several executives insist any new name has to hold on to HBO’s prestige. Conversely, others see the inclusion of Discovery's reality-based programming to anything bearing the HBO name as something that could dilute the brand’s value, on top of the already existing problem of having several products named after the network, including HBO Go and HBO Now.
Since its launch in 2020, HBO Max has stuck to the same $14.99 a month price tag ($9.99 with ads), however, that could also be set to go up in the near future. At the very least, the new Warner may set different tiers for those interested in just one particular type of programming, similar to Disney.
Source: CNBC