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SCHEDULE WATCH: HBO Max
Channel 21 International | January 2021
Max effort
The Flight Attendant
Set to launch in Latin America later this year, HBO Max is seeking new voices and diverse talent as it broadens out the core HBO brand. By Gün Akyuz
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resh from keynoting at C21’s Content London On Demand towards the end of 2020, Casey Bloys is well versed in the joinedup programming strategy unfolding across HBO and its streamer HBO Max, as the latter prepares to launch outside of the US, initially in Latin America and the Caribbean. While HBO’s overall programming strategy isn’t changing, HBO Max is enabling the brand to open up to a broader range of voices and genres, with HBO living as “a core brand within the HBO Max service,” Bloys says. “The idea with HBO Max is to broaden out the offering to make it as attractive to as many consumers as possible,” he says, highlighting the push into areas that aren’t typically associated with HBO, such as reality programming, adult animation and acquisitions. Priorities for the streamer include finding diverse voices in storytelling,
female-driven and young-adult (YA) fare and tapping WarnerMedia’s DC franchises. “One of the things we want to do at Max is really lean into our advantages as a company at WarnerMedia. That includes not only the HBO brand but DC, which is a really important brand for us,” he says. Other notable WarnerMedia brands include Looney Tunes and Warner Brothers movies, plus YA properties such as Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars and Riverdale, he says. “When you put all that together as a company, that expertise in that range of programming is a really, really compelling offering for consumers.” Launched in the US last May, HBO Max had attracted 8.6 million active US subscribers by the end of the third quarter of 2020, up from four million in July. Combined, HBO and HBO Max reached 38 million subscribers,
exceeding the group’s year-end target of 35 million. Bloys, who oversees programming for both HBO and HBO Max, acknowledges the unprecedented challenges brought by Covid-19 for everyone during 2020, including “those of us who rely on crowds of people to do our jobs, in terms of producing shows.” The pandemic aside, programming ventures face continuous challenges anyway, says Bloys. “There are so many things that can go wrong in getting a show from conception or pitch to final product, and making sure that we’re doing everything we can to give artists and producers everything, all the support they need, to do the best show they can. But the biggest challenge is making sure that the collection of shows that you offer breaks through and is meaningful to consumers,” he adds.
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The biggest challenge is making sure that the collection of shows you offer breaks through and is meaningful to consumers. Casey Bloys HBO
