WarnerMedia CTO Jeremy Legg and Andy Forssell, EVP and GM at WarnerMedia Direct-to-Consumer, today shared their thoughts on technical issues and possible bundling options for HBO Max during a session at CES 2020 in Las Vegas.
The pair discussed how HBO Max will provide consumers with the ability to create up to five profiles, leverage multiple concurrent streams and download video content, most of which had been previously announced last October during investor day.
Of course, scalability is a concern with HBO Max, particularly following the technical issues Disney+ users experienced just hours after the streaming service’s launch. But as Legg pointed out, “HBO Max is a new brand, but HBO is not a new product.” At one time, there were 4.7 million concurrent users streaming “Game of Thrones,” Legg said, and HBO Max is being designed and tested to eliminate technical issues before launch.
Expect plenty of experimentation in the weeks leading up to HBO Max’s launch, too. Forssell said WarnerMedia plans to “take some chances” in regards to the HBO Max user interface, and HBO Max could feature “brand hubs” for popular TV show and movie categories. HBO Max may also be offered in various bundles. Bundling “makes things stickier, so you can bet that we’ll really aggressively experiment,” Forssell said.