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HBO Max & Discovery+ Going to the "MAX" on April 12th Press Day?

Warner Bros. Discovery's David Zaslav confirmed a press day on April 12 for a rollout of the new HBO Max/Discovery+ combo streaming service.

Published Thu, 23 Feb 2023 16:28:10 -0600

by Ray Flook

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While there wasn't a ton of big news coming out of Thursday's Warner Bros. Discovery 2022 Q4 earnings call, it doesn't look like that will be the case on April 12th. During the webcast conference call, WBD head David Zaslav confirmed that the new streaming service combining HBO Max and Discovery+ (at least in some way, since D+ will also be kept as its own service) will be rolled out on that day for a big press day event. That's expected to include it's official new name (maybe "Max"?), launch date, pricing, and more. "With the major restructuring decisions behind us, this year we are focused on building and growing our businesses for the future, and we're off to a great start," Zaslav said in a statement accompanying the earnings results. "We're seeing strong momentum across the enterprise, including our exciting long-term plans for DC Studios, the historic success of our latest HBO series 'The Last of Us,' the significant financial and operating gains in DTC, and the record sales of our newest game 'Hogwarts Legacy.' And with our unparalleled portfolio of assets and IP, a growing roster of exceptional creative talent, and some of the buzziest storytelling in the industry, we believe we have repositioned our businesses to take full advantage of the many opportunities ahead."

Is HBO Max Going to the "MAX"?

Thanks to sources speaking with CNBC back in December 2022, we might just know the name of the new platform that will be rolled out in April. Though a Warner Bros. Discovery spokesperson would only say that a name is being considered and that the sources say the name is still being checked by WBD's legal team, there's a good chance that the "HBO" is getting dropped and "Max" will be the name (hey, at least there isn't a "+").

Sources did make it clear that other names are still in consideration, so a final decision is still in play; during the discussions, the new streamer was reportedly code-named "BEAM." In addition, sources report that the app will share many similarities with Disney+, with WBD brands set as individual tiles (with HBO, Discovery, DC Comics, and Warner Bros. reportedly serving as landing hubs). In addition, the pricing structure for the new service is still being discussed, with no tentative figures shared other than it will cost more than what HBO Max currently costs. From the moment Zaslav took the reins of WBD, he made it clear that a combination of what HBO Max and Discovery+ have to offer would be a winning combination on a number of fronts. "These early green shoots bolster our strategic thesis that the two content offerings work well together and, when combined, should drive greater engagement, lower churn, and higher customer lifetime value," he explained during a recent company earnings call. The decision to remove "HBO" was reportedly meant to emphasize the diversity of content that the streaming service will offer beyond the HBO brand, as well as to build up further HBO's sub-brand as a home for prestige content.

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