Warner Bros. Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels on Thursday explained the rationale for his studio’s rebrand of Max as HBO Max to better position the streaming platform for consumers.
“What really differentiates us, what really swings the needle when it comes to growth momentum is quality. It’s the quality content that we can produce in a way that nobody else can,” Wiedenfels said of popular HBO series underpinning Max during an appearance at the MoffettNathanson Media, Internet and Communications Conference.
HBO Max launched in 2020 as home to a host of popular HBO shows, and first became Max in 2023. That’s as WBD looked to broaden the streamer with a more mainstream content offering. “There was a lot of everything-for-everyone in the market. And we obviously came out of the gate with a combined portfolio, with our Discovery Networks and HBO.”
But Wiedenfels told investors Max was now moving from a more-is-better to a better-is-better approach to content as consumers appear to covet unique content in an increasingly crowded streaming space. “The market has spoken here, and quality is the real differentiator,” he said.
Wiedenfels also addressed the possibility of WBD doing a major split of company in the wake a disruptive streaming era. “There’s a lot more openness to discuss the options, opportunities, and we’re just going to make sure that we are in a position to take advantage of whatever opportunity arises,” Wiedenfels said of major Hollywood players possibly positioning themselves for what many see as another round of industry mergers and acquisitions on the horizon.
The WBD financial chief was speaking after CNBC’s David Faber a week ago reported the studio was considering a split of the company to follow Comcast with its cable TV channels spinoff. Faber talked about WB studios being paired with Max (sorry, HBO Max) and the Discovery linear cable channels being spun off into a separate company.
WBD has already begun to reorganize the company with an eye to a possible spinoff of its legacy TV assets. In Dec. 2024, the studio said it had reworked its corporate structure into a global linear TV division, separate from its streaming and studios division.
WBD added it had begun the early steps leading toward the new corporate reorganization, with a completion set for mid-2025. Asked about the timeline for “strategic action” at the company to better reveal the underlying value of studio assets, Wiedenfels didn’t bring out his crystal ball.
“I can’t give a specific timeline, and there is no specific timeline. But we definitely share the view that our current share price is not reflecting the underlying the value of our company,” he said. But he insisted the recent company reorganization gave WBD “a lot of flexibility,” and greater transparency for the studio’s linear TV, studios and streaming businesses.
