Latest news with #WBD-owned
TechCrunch
14-05-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Max to be renamed HBO Max, fixing the name change nobody wanted
Two years after Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) rebranded its streaming service to Max, the company is reverting to its old name. On Wednesday, the company announced the good news at its Upfront presentation, with the name change becoming official this summer. When Max launched in 2023, the revamped platform was positioned as a win for subscribers, giving them access to 35,000 hours of entertainment, as well as new features, an updated interface, and overall better performance. The name change was made to eliminate confusion, as the HBO Max streaming service included not only HBO content but also programming from all WBD-owned networks, such as CNN, the Discovery Channel, Food Network, HGTV, TLC, and more. Additionally, this change was meant to broaden its appeal beyond adult viewers, incorporating more family-friendly titles from Discovery. Despite these intentions, many viewers criticized the name change. Now, it seems that WBD has reevaluated its approach. Instead of focusing on a large volume of diverse content, the streaming service is prioritizing quality programming. During the WBD Upfront, Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO and Max content, said, 'With the course we are on and strong momentum we are enjoying, we believe HBO Max far better represents our current consumer proposition. And it clearly states our implicit promise to deliver content that is recognized as unique and, to steal a line we always said at HBO, worth paying for.' The shift comes after WBD reportedly removed hundreds of hours of titles earlier this month, such as several '90 Day' spin-offs and 'Ghost Adventures,' according to a Reddit post. So it appears that Discovery's reality shows, initially intended to boost the Max name, didn't drive enough engagement for the streamer after all. Nonetheless, HBO Max continues to be one of the top streaming services. The company touted its growth in the announcement, reporting an addition of 22 million subscribers in the past year, keeping it on track to reach over 150 million by 2026.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A Donald Trump ally has a suggestion for Warner Bros. Discovery: Why don't you pay us or give us a TV show?
Donald Trump is suing some media companies. But he's also open to deals with them. That's the suggestion a Trump ally recently made to Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns a bunch of cable channels including CNN. There's no evidence that WBD has moved forward with that suggestion. But the fact that it has come up at all tells you a lot about the state of things in 2025. Donald Trump has a long history of attacking media companies. But the man who spent years as a primetime TV star before he became president is also very interested in media companies, and the power and influence they may still have. Which brings us to this New York magazine profile of Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, written by Trump biographer Michael Wolff. It says someone "in the Trump orbit" has made some suggestions for ways WBD could make Trump happy: Offer money, programming or both. This is one of those stories that would have been unimaginable in other presidencies, but certainly rhymes with what we've seen from Trump and moguls who want to be on his good side (see: the Amazon/Melania Trump deal referenced in the excerpt; along with payouts to Trump in lawsuit settlements from the likes of Disney and Meta). And indeed, a person familiar with the details of that anecdote says it's correct. (WBD declined to comment, and I've asked the White House as well — though White House comms head Steven Cheung has previously described Wolff as "a lying sack of shit [who] has been proven to be a fraud.") There's no evidence that WBD has acted on any of those suggestions. But it's certainly worth noting that last summer, Zaslav said he was rooting for a president that would allow the media business to consolidate — something Joe Biden had opposed. And that the day after Trump's election last fall, Zaslav said he was hopeful the new administration "would provide a real positive and accelerated impact on this industry that's needed." On the flip side, Trump is a frequent critic of WBD-owned CNN, and has sued the news organization — unsuccessfully — multiple times. And during his first administration, Trump's antitrust officials sued to stop AT&T from buying Time Warner, WBD's predecessor company. Media executives in and outside of Time Warner believe that suit, which didn't succeed but took years to litigate, stemmed from Trump's distaste for CNN; Trump antitrust officials insist that wasn't the case. Meanwhile, Trump continues to make it clear that he both consumes traditional media and gets angry when it doesn't flatter him. On Sunday night, following an episode of CBS's "60 Minutes," Trump posted a rant on his Truth Social complaining about CBS, and commanded Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr to "impose the maximum fines and punishment, which is substantial, for their unlawful and illegal behavior." Carr is currently reviewing a pending sale of CBS owner Paramount, and Trump is already suing Paramount over a different "60 Minutes" episode he doesn't like. Read the original article on Business Insider
