This year, the upfronts are a very different affair due to the ongoing Writer Guild of America strike. Netflix canceled their in-person event and held the presentation virtually, while other networks such as Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) had to put on smaller shows out of respect for the talent affected. On Tuesday, WBD, after concluding its yearly presentation, went ahead and launched its biggest endeavor yet: the reboot of HBO Max as just Max. Although HBO Max had initially launched during the lockdown of 2020 with a lot of promise, the introduction of Max has been met with a writers strike that simply can’t be ignored.
HBO Max has had a history of bumps in the road and bad timing as it seeks to take over the streaming world. This week, the company combined the existing HBO Max service with the newly launched Discovery+, and was picketed by WGA protestors chanting “When I say ‘AI’ you say ‘bye-bye.”‘ Consequently, during the company’s presentation on Tuesday, HBO and Max CEO Casey Bloys addressed the situation stating, “I am hopeful that a fair resolution is found soon with the writers that would, of course, return talent to this stage. Until then, you’re kind of stuck with me and my clips.”
The major talk now in the TV industry circles is the now-defunct HBO Max which is now focussing on becoming Max – something the company has invested a lot in marketing dollars for. But the road has not been smooth. Competing with other streaming services and facing a time of uncertainty due to the pandemic and the writer’s strike, HBO Max must rely on its huge back catalog of content for its upcoming launches.
Jon Steinlauf, head of US ad sales for Warner Bros. Discovery, discussed the situation during the company’s presentation. He explained that the company was making a decision to focus on unsripted content, due to the writers strike, rather than scripts, and he expressed hope that the writers will soon get a fair deal.
Although there have been many bumps in the road for HBO Max, there is still hope for the future. If the company keeps up the marketing of its new name Max and is able to come to a fair agreement with the Writers Guild of America, the future of streaming TV could become much brighter and even more powerful.
