Although details are still sparse, it's almost certain at this point that Warner Bros. Discovery will be merging HBO Max and Discovery+ into a single streaming service, name TBD. But I'm not convinced this is the right decision.
I'm not sure there is a name in TV entertainment with a more reputable brand than HBO. For decades, HBO has been known as a steady-handed hitmaker, a clear leader in producing the most quality content per dollar spent on production. HBO's brand is in delivering premium, well-written, engaging storytelling to households, and that has been true since it launched in 1972.
This is not Discovery's brand. Discovery's brand at this point seems to be a catch-all term for anything either extremely intellectual or anything extremely not. Few other networks can show you How the Universe Works right next to 90 Day Fiancé and Dr. Pimple Popper and have it almost kind of make sense. But that's not to say this is a clear brand identity or strategy. Most of the shows popping up in Discovery+'s "Trending" section are either guilty pleasure favorites — 90 Day Fiancé, Naked and Afraid, My Lottery Dream Home — or something I would call "interesting but mindless background shows" — Mythbusters, Chopped, Deadliest Catch. This is a far cry from HBO's charter of "premium, well-written, engaging storytelling."
So given all this, I think Warner Bros. Discovery is in a bit of a catch-22 if they try to combine these services. If they keep the "HBO" name on the service, they risk diluting the HBO brand with a bunch of TLC shows that even fans feel guilty about watching. If they keep the "Discovery" name, they risk launching their new service under a brand that does not appear to be resonating with consumers. If they launch the service under an entirely new name, then Warner Bros. Discovery has to fight the uphill battle of overcoming everyone's subscription fatigue to educate the masses about an entirely new service they "need." Some of these options are worse than others, but I don't think any of them are particularly great options.
The truth of the matter is I don't trust that Warner Bros. Discovery will execute this merger correctly because I think they're misreading what consumers really want. To repurpose a Scott Galloway line, I think TV is a space where consumers don't want more choices; they want to be more confident in the choices they have. Apps like Spotify and Apple Music work because listening to a song is low investment and therefore consumers don't mind sifting through some crap to find the new stuff they really like. But watching a TV show is a much bigger investment. It could take hours or days or weeks to finish a show, and having too many choices for what to watch can be pretty overwhelming. In other words, I'm not sure people want to sift through Married at First Sight and Seeking Sister Wife to find Succession. I think they just want to be shown Succession. That's not to say I don't think a company could effectively use their recommendation algorithm or UI design to avoid this clutter, but let's not pretend like we have faith in Warner Bros. Discovery to make an uncluttered UI when they couldn't even make an uncluttered company name.
I hope they prove me wrong because having more "mega subscriptions" for TV would be great. But I'm not sure they will.
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