HBO Max makes a surprise comeback
In another twist for streaming subscribers, Warner Bros. Discovery is scrapping the “Max” brand and reviving the “HBO Max” name this summer. The company made this move official at its Upfront event today in New York, touting it as a way to double down on what works best: the HBO brand and its reputation for quality programming.
Executives point to billions in profit improvements and millions of new subscribers, insisting that shifting the focus back to HBO will help the company hit a projected 150 million global subscribers by 2026. But as someone who follows streaming trends closely, I can’t ignore the constant rebranding.
Will streaming services run up that hill to replace big networks?
You may remember a couple of years ago when Kate Bush’s song "Running Up That Hill" peaked at number one on the charts. Not unusual, given somebody always has the top song, but this was different. You see, that particular track was released decades earlier -- 1985 to be precise.
What caused this unexpected resurgence in popularity? In 2022, during the fourth season of the smash-hit Netflix series Stranger Things, the song was featured multiple times, bringing it back into the spotlight.
Pink Corvette crashes into Max as Barbie arrives
In 1959, a doll came onto the market that was saturated with them. It shouldn’t have been a big deal; a ho-hum moment. Something about it caught on, though, and it became bigger perhaps any toy and things went forward from there. Barbie had every occupation from doctor to architect and even met a boyfriend, Ken.
Dolls had been around forever, but Barbie caught on for some reason. Inventor Rauth Hadler had noticed something with her daughter, who played with paper dolls -- she gave them adult personas. It’s amazing where ideas can come from. Hadler ran with it and went to Mattel with the idea. The rest we all know.