Simplifying In Period of ‘Peak Confusion’
Warner Bros Discovery has confirmed its plan to jettison the “HBO” from HBO Max, announcing that its rebranded streaming service will be called … Max. The new offering, which combines programming from HBO Max and Discovery, will go live May 23. JB Perrette, President & CEO, Global Streaming & Games, Warner Bros Discovery, said the aim of blending Discovery and Warner content in a single services is to stand out “in a sea of streaming services” crowding the market. “In this era of peak confusion, we’re trying to simplify and improve the experience for consumers,” he said.
Max will bring all of its content into one place including premium video playback; personalization based on viewing preferences; a more prominent kids experience; simplified navigation; and 4K UHD. On the engagement front, Max will include interactive ad units, such as pause ads and prompts for users to choose which version of an ad they’d prefer to see. “Our incredible team has been hard at work taking the best of both legacy technology platforms to deliver a product that works much better,” said Perrette. “We’re confident that all these enhancements will deliver a stronger experience for our customers, which will drive more engagement, help enhance retention, and improve customer satisfaction, which in turn will help us continue to scale.”
As with many rebrands, social media is alive with pushback and ridicule. For example, the tagline “The one to watch for HBO” generated this Tweet: “What next? ‘Big Mac: the place to eat McDonald’s’?”
