Posted in: HBO, Max, Opinion, streaming, TV, TV | Tagged: David Zaslav, discovery plus, HBO, hbo max, max, opinion

Max: Warner Bros. Discovery Removing "HBO" Was Smart Move (Seriously)

Today's the day Warner Bros. Discovery officially shifted from HBO Max to Max - and as an HBO fan, I'm glad it did. Seriously. Here's why...

Beginning with sources speaking with CNBC back in December 2022, the rumblings that a name for Warner Bros. Discovery's combined HBO Max/Discovery+ streaming service was being tested began to get louder. Though a WBD 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, all signs were pointing to WBD CEO David Zaslav taking things to the "Max" in 2023 (sorry). And as of today, it's now all officially official, with WBD slapping a "Max" label on anything and everything that used to read "HBO Max." Of course, this is all happening in the midst of the WGA/AMPTP writers' strike, so you can imagine how well this is all being received – especially with Zaslav becoming the WGA's unofficial metaphorical pinata – representing all of the studios. And rightfully so – between salary bonuses, programming decisions, the way the studios disregard & disrespect writers, and more, there are a ton of reasons to call out both Zaslav and WBD – but the name of the streamer isn't one of them. Because – as much as I'm shocked to write this – Zaslav's folks were right to remove the "HBO" from the name. If you love HBO, then you need it to be named "Max."

Let's get two things out of the way right from the jump. I'm not saying that "Max" is the best name – that's a whole other conversation that would need a lot more words than this one is offering. Also, I've loved HBO since the days when they would go off the air and allow local businesses to post text ads on a blue screen during downtime. And it's because of that love that I'm glad that HBO isn't anywhere near that streaming name. When the news of "Max" first began and after it was confirmed, Zaslav's people made the argument that wanted to remove "HBO" to emphasize the diversity of content that the streaming service is now offering beyond the HBO brand and that they were looking to build up further HBO's sub-brand as a home for prestige content. Now, let's put all of that into more blunt terms.

Although HBO Max had a lot of content, with Discovery+ coming aboard Max? The volume of content doesn't even compare. So, in that sense, HBO has a smaller foothold on the streamer's library than it used to. But it's that last part – that "prestige content" line – that's key. Because when most of us think of HBO, we think of a cable network with a pretty impressive library of critically-acclaimed, award-winning series. We think of Six Feet Under, Lovecraft Country, The Wire, True Detective, The Last of Us, The Sopranos, Watchmen, and dozens upon dozens of other comedies & dramas – all of which have given the cabler the award-winning hardware to back up its claim of being a home for excellence that critics and viewers want to watch.

But now? HBO will also be the name-brand home to 80-Day Farm Animal Fiancé, Narcoleptic House Flipper Challenge, Ass-Kicking Ghost-Wrestlers, America's Top Taxidermist, Cooking with Carrot Top, and more – a sea of reality shows, true-crime docuseries, cartoons that are barely a hairline away from being toy infomercials, sitcoms with punchlines so painful they would make an 80's studio audience groan, cookie-cutter Christmas movies that… MAKE IT STOP!!!! Look… no one's judging here. When I'm writing, two of my biggest go-to shows are History's Pawn Stars and MTV's Ridiculousness – so who would I be to judge, right? But when it comes to HBO? Let me keep that cocktail of mainstream acceptance and critical praise a wonderful, unique thing. And to do that, HBO had to go.

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