We have now officially seen the end of Warner Bros’ Max era- and many feel it’s best forgotten as quickly as it arrived. The last 2 years have not been all that kind to Warner Bros, and the constant shifts in its branding and focus have done little to offset that. To fill in the gaps as we see its flagship streamer return to the familiar HBO Max name, we have our expert entertainment attorney at Blake & Wang P.A., Brandon Blake
Back to the Future
Warner Bros. announced its plan to return to the HBO brand name in May. While officials were quick to talk about how the reversal would “amplify the uniqueness” of the streaming platform, especially as the overall streaming landscape becomes rather crowded, many in the industry have also taken this as a sign that their early attempts to freshen the brand have simply failed.
The move was initially made as part of a plan to blend Discovery’s unscripted programing with their better-known HBO fare. However, this mingling of genres wasn’t a particular success, with the brand losing a lot of the immediate recognition the HBO branding brings to the table, especially with Discovery+ remaining a stand-alone offering.
Continuing Success
If we are being fair, however, Max can’t be written off completely as a bad idea. The service still managed to pull in new subscribers and kept strong viewership numbers. However, the loss of overall cohesion in the brand certainly had an impact on Warner Bros. stock along the way. Now, of course, we’re also waiting for the split-off of Warner Bros. cable TV assets from its streaming and studios arm, and in the midst of an aggressive territorial expansion for HBO Max itself.
Warner Bros will be reporting its Q2 earnings over the next few weeks. As of the last earnings call, they had 122.3M global subscribers. It will be interesting to see what impacts, if any, this swing back to the old familiar brings for the struggling streamer in the coming weeks.
Film and Television 