With HBO Max and Discovery+ Expected to Merge, Streamers Debate Scale vs. Brand Identity
variety.comBrian Steinberg Senior TV EditorWarner Bros. Discovery is about to find out whether bigger and broader really is better when it comes to streaming.
Ever since he took over the merged company in April, CEO David Zaslav has been clear about his vision for one global platform, and with the company’s latest earnings release this week, Wall Street anticipation about details regarding about a paired-up HBO Max and Discovery+ is growing.This would enable people who signed up to binge-watch “Barry,” “Succession” and “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” will be able to get their fill of “Naked and Afraid” and hundreds of hours of the excitable Food Network personality Guy Fieri hosting supermarket competitions and chowing down on chicken-fried steak or meatloaf at dining hot spots.
Will the two fit together? The names HBO and Discovery “do mean different things to different people,” says Allen Adamson, managing partner of Metaforce, a branding consultancy.
And that might create a challenge, he adds, when it comes time to sell potential subscribers on a combined service: “The broader the brand, the more things you try to stand for.” Warner Bros.
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