When HBO Max relaunches on Tuesday as “Max,” Warner Bros Discovery Inc will test whether combining critically acclaimed dramas with reality fodder that some could describe as a “guilty pleasure” will attract more customers.
“Max” will combine HBO’s high-end scripted programming such as “Succession” and Warner Bros films with Discovery’s food, home, and lifestyle content such as “Fixer Upper: Welcome Home,” in an attempt to broaden the appeal of the original HBO Max service and reduce the number of people canceling the service each month. It also intends to broaden its offering of children’s material.
The anticipated adjustments were first disclosed by Warner Bros. Discovery on April 12.
The media entity formed by WarnerMedia and Discovery’s 2022 merger is wagering that the addition of Discovery content will help retain subscribers who normally sign up for HBO Max to watch a season of their favorite show – and then cancel after the finale.
It’s a strategy that has worked well for the Discovery service in Poland and the Nordic nations.
“In markets where we had scripted entertainment and nonfiction sitting together, we know the proposition works,” said JB Perrette, Warner Bros Discovery’s president and chief executive of global streaming, adding that despite the common perception of HBO viewers “as only living in an ivory tower of HBO, the reality is we all have guilty pleasures.”
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With a future “Harry Potter” series, a “Game of Thrones” prequel, and the DC Comics-inspired “The Penguin,” starring Colin Farrell, Max will also strive to explore the media company’s enormous vault of entertainment titles. Perrette also stated that the corporation is considering ways to add sports to its streaming service.
In its first-quarter results released earlier this month, Warner Bros Discovery stated its streaming unit, which comprises the HBO Max and Discovery services, earned $50 million in adjusted pretax earnings, compared to a loss of $227 million the previous year. It attracted 1.6 million new subscribers.
“Our US streaming business is no longer a bleeder,” CEO David Zaslav said on a post-earnings call.
This was a watershed moment for a division that had been losing money in its pursuit of subscribers and a footing in the industry’s digital future. Zaslav, on the other hand, claimed that churn on HBO Max was too high. According to the analytics firm Antenna, 6.5% of HBO Max users abandoned the program in April, more than doubling the turnover rate of rival Netflix Inc.
Discovery will remain a separate platform, but its most popular shows will be available on Max as well.
Max is available in three tiers: an ad-supported version for $10 per month, an ad-free version for $16 per month, both with the option to stream on two devices simultaneously, and a $20-per-month ad-free edition that can stream on four devices simultaneously.