HBO Max: the end of an era or a rebirth

Only launched in 2020, the streaming service HBO Max for US television network HBO and Warner Bros. Discovery will be no longer. On Wednesday at a livestreamed press event from Los Angeles, Warner Bros. Discovery announced HBO Max, will be replaced with a new streaming platform Max.

The streamer will house HBO Originals, Warner Bros. films, Max Originals, the DC universe, the Harry Potter franchise, an expansive offering of kids content, as well as programming across food, home, reality, lifestyle and documentaries from leading brands.

Its move to relaunch a new streaming service is driven by the company’s goal to create a system which is “easy to navigate” explained Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, as well as, boost engagement across all content on the platform.

Following the merge of Discovery+ and HBO Max last year, it saw an extensive catalogue of programming come together under one roof, including content from HBO’s pay TV service, Max originals, Cartoon Network, Cartoonito, DC Kids, Adult Swim, truTV, Discovery, Boomerang, DC universe and more.

While HBO is a powerful brand and HBO Max has quickly become one of the frontrunners in the streaming market, with an increasing wide and diverse library of programming following the merge its understandable why a new business model needed to be explored.

Also speaking at the press event, president & CEO, global streaming & games, Warner Bros. Discovery, JB Perrette explained despite its extensive offering of kids entertainment, HBO Max which has become recognised for the TV network hits such as Euphoria, Succession, Game of Thrones, “It’s not exactly a place where parents will easily drop off their kids.”

As such this sees content going unnoticed and getting lost in the platform, with brands getting neglected by subscribers. With this new model it seems Warner Bros. are able to better tackle this and with the relaunch of Max, “will better curate our rich history of kids entertainment,” says Perrette.

He added due to “this era of peak confusion” which can be stemmed from the overcrowded streaming market where viewers are overloaded with new content every day, the company intentions behind Max were to “simplify and improve the experience for consumers.”

In its fight against the streaming giants Netflix, Amazon and Disney, this direction from Warner Bros. Discovery emphasises the companies’ priorities of expanding its audience reach and increasing consumer engagement.

Max’s subscription costs remain the same starting at Max Ad-Lite’s $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year, offering two concurrent streams, 1080p resolution, with no offline downloads and 5.1 surround sound quality. Max Ad Free at $15.99 per month or $149.99 per year permits 30 offline downloads. While, Max Ultimate Ad Free priced at $19.99 per month or $199.99 per year delivers 4 concurrent streams, up to 4K UHD resolution, 100 offline downloads and Dolby Atmos sound quality.

However how effective will this relaunch be following news earlier this week that New research from research consultancy Parks Associates pointed to a significant drop in US consumer spending for streaming video services between 2021 and 2022.

The report — OTT Video Tracker: Insights into the evolving US streaming landscape revealed though streamer penetration in the US remains high, with 87% of US internet households having at least one streaming service, a loss of revenues suggests that consumers are either dropping their least favourite services or becoming more tactical about their subscriptions.

“Consumers are trying new services – they’re hopping in and out based on the season for sports, fresh content, and the deals and bundles offered. Currently we see 32 million homes hopping around services; and retention and churn will continue to challenge the industry,” says Elizabeth Parks, president and CMO of Parks Associates.

Only three years old HBO Max has made its mark in the streaming market in a big way, but its switch to Max, suggest the merger hasn’t reached their full scope and this new path is an attempt to achieve this.