Rebranding an American Staple
The Start of an Era
More commonly known and referred to as HBO, the Home Box Office has been functioning as a subscription payment-based television network since its launch in 1972, making it the longest-operating on-demand TV subscription service in the United States. With over 50 years of experience in television programming, it is no wonder that the name HBO has become a household staple nationwide.
In 1996 HBO’s slogan was, “It’s not TV, it’s HBO.” Implying that the quality of programming on their platform was superior to what you could watch on your standard cable network. Since then, HBO has had record-breaking and iconic original shows like The Sopranos (1999), Game of Thrones (2011), Westworld (2016), and Succession (2018), to name a few. Time and time again, their network programming has continued to raise the bar of what audiences (and their competitors) can expect from the brand.
The platform managed to solidify its status as a premium entertainment platform as it garnered a multitude of Primetime Emmys, including the most recent 2022 ceremony where HBO content took home 38 Emmy Awards, surpassing those won by their competitors like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+.
Entering the Streaming Scene
Owned by WarnerMedia, HBO officially launched its platform into the streaming wars in 2020 with HBO Max. At the time, the subscription-based streaming package was marketed advertising its 10,000 hours of content. Both HBO original movies and shows could be accessed through the streaming service and third-party IP like fan-favorites Friends and the Big Bang Theory.
HBO Max’s connection to WarnerMedia also allowed it to distribute Warner branded content, from the Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings franchises to content from Cartoon Network, New Line Cinema, Adult Swim, CNN, and even DC Entertainment.
HBO Max partnered with AT&T that same year, offering its millions of wireless and internet customers access to the new streaming platforms. Plans included upgrading then HBO subscribers to the HBO Max platform at no cost and giving current internet and phone plan customers a free trial anywhere from a month to a year.
According to Statista, AT&T had 182.56 million wireless subscribers and 15.38 million broadband internet users in 2020, making it the third-largest telecommunications company in the United States. HBO Max’s partnership with the provider made reaching millions of homes nationwide easy. Through email marketing and other promotional materials distributed through AT&T’s mobile app and customer portals, HBO and WarnerMedia could seamlessly introduce HBO Max to its already existing consumer base and get exposure to users who might not have been previously subscribed.
The Big Merger
In April of 2022, WarnerMedia merged with Discovery, creating the new company Warner Bros. Discovery, so plans to combine the HBO Max streaming platform and Discovery+ were born.
During the initial stages of the shift within the platforms, HBO Max began removing a list of original programming like the hit Westworld and straight-to-streaming movies, including The Witches, Moonshot, and Locked Down. This act confused users, seeing that HBO never announced it would begin taking down content and seemed to be doing so as quietly as possible.
In its wake, the merger left at least a dozen early and late production projects permanently shelved. And for a while, it seemed like no one was safe. With networks like TNT and TBS under its wing, Warner Bros. Discovery canceled HBO programming and shows like Snowpiercer and The Last O.G.
As a final step before the official launch of the combined platform, Warner Bros. Discovery announced that they would undergo a major name change. Gone was the brand that had become so familiar in households worldwide when it came to high-quality at-home entertainment. The streaming platform Max was introduced no longer tied to the name HBO.
So, Why the Rebrand?
Given its history and successful trajectory in television programming, particularly with its original shows, one has to wonder why the parent company would want to remove such a well-regarded brand like “HBO” from its title.
To fully understand, we have to think about why a company would want to rebrand in the first place. According to Warner Bros. Discovery’s CEO’s vision for Max was to make it “the place that every member of the household goes to see whatever they want at any given time.” Essentially, WBD is trying to broaden its appeal beyond just HBO scripted original programming, which would make sense since Discovery has its own catalog of unscripted shows like Property Brothers, Naked and Afraid, and even Chopped. Where HBO Max had 10,000 hours of content, Max has tripled that with a lineup of over 35,000 hours of streaming content available on the platform.
Another factor that played into the renaming of the platform was HBO’s invaluable reputation with adult programming. With the merger, WBD wanted to reach more households with children. At the launch event for Max, the company’s head of streaming, JB Perrette, announced that “the kids category has not met its true potential on HBO Max.” With its relaunch Max has now added a kid’s’ profile category to its platform. Much like Netflix, people with access to a kid’s profile are only able to view PG and TV-PG (or lower) rated content.
The Public Reacts
To say that public reception to the rebranding of the platform has been a mixed bag of good and bad would be putting it mildly. With 96.1 Million subscribers on HBO, HBO Max, and Discovery+ combined, many fans were deeply upset at the removal of content only available on the streaming platform.
Additionally, in April of 2023, Warner Brothers seemed to be getting rid of archived analog mementos, such as movie posters that dated back to the 1950s.
One Facebook user recounts his experience, saying that WB dumped the posters in the trash, and security prevented any diving. A Twitter user reposted this, saying the company was “destroying history.” The Tweet gained a lot of traction online, with over 900K views.
In a follow up thread the user continues that they might have been inclined to believe that the renaming made sense if it was done to “differentiate [HBO] from the streaming stuff,” but that was a judgment made before they saw the new Max tagline, The one to watch for HBO. The user then goes on to make fun of the tagline using a plot point from HBO’s own show Succession, where its own media conglomerate’s channel’s rebranding scheme goes wrong.
The irony was not lost on the 28.2K Twitter users who interacted with that Tweet. @FrancisTheSalir saying, “I love how HBO Max changed its name to "max" so now has to clarify that it's the one to watch for HBO”
There was another type of fallout to the rebranding as well. Variety reported that Warner Bros. Discovery stock went down by 6% after the launch. With many users reporting technical issues and feeling annoyed at the fact that they had to download a different app in order to access their accounts.
The Future of Max
One of the merger's goals was to maximize the number of users on the platform. The senior VP of subscriber growth, Seth Goren, revealed that out-of-home ads for the platform will run in airports, electric vehicle charging stations, shopping malls, movie theaters, and even weather apps. One can only assume that the wide catalog of combined programming plays a part in these decisions, the more diverse the content portfolio the more places they will be able to reach through their advertising.
Goren says, “We’ll be where the consumer is,” and emphasizes the importance of using data to guide their success, “We’re going to listen to data, optimize, tweak, we’re in it for the long run.”
Along with the, hopefully, wide consumer reach, Max is banking on producing new programming based on intellectual property that already has a large fanbase.
Warner Bros. Discovery announced a decade-long television series adaptation of Harry Potter, a comedy show based on The Big Bang Theory, another Game of Thrones prequel, and a series deriving from The Conjuring franchise.
The outlook from consumers looks a little bleak, but the strategies Max proposes to regain some of that brand loyalty and provide the brand positioning on a platform like HBO provides look promising.
Of course, there is no telling which way the tides could turn, but if one thing has been proven over the last 50 years, the possibilities are endless with good writing and high-quality programming.
