WBD Expects John Oliver Will Have A 'Hot Take' About Its HBO Max Rebrand
Warner Bros. Discovery streaming marketing chief Shauna Spenley says she and her colleagues will be tuning in more avidly than ever to Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.
'We just cannot wait for his hot take on this whole rebrand,' Spenley said during the company's upfront presentation to advertisers Wednesday, alluding to the bombshell news that Max is returning to the HBO Max name this summer. 'We think it's going to be pretty hot.'
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Spenley, who spent 15 years at Netflix, joined WBD last year as Global Chief Marketing Officer of Direct-to-Consumer. At the upfront, she followed Casey Bloys, CEO of HBO and Max Content. Bloys made the big HBO Max reveal, which the audience at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden was still processing as she took the stage.
'You're probably thinking, 'Wow, these guys really love to rebrand,'' she said. 'Well, you know, it's been about two years, so that's been our track record. I'd say now is about the right time.'
As she was speaking, the Max social media accounts were fully leaning into the humor of the about-face, rolling out the pointing-multiple-Spider-Men memes and other get-a-load-of-us images.
Turning to the serious marketing argument for the new/old name, Spenley said, 'We all know the market is cluttered. It's becoming almost like fast fashion. People are saying, 'I'd rather have one great sweater rather than five that fall apart.' The desire for cheap, long-form volume [of the type other streamers offer] is waning.'
HBO's ability to make long-form programming that breaks through and brings audiences and awards is 'our competitive advantage,' she said. 'It's the same one we have had on HBO for the last 50 years.'
In making the argument for one-at-a-time episode drops as opposed to binge releases, Spenley played one of Oliver's 'And Now … This' segments from Last Week Tonight capturing motley TV personalities chattering about the White Lotus finale,
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