It is a big week for Warner Bros. Discovery. Not only did the media and entertainment conglomerate launch its new and improved streaming service known as Max today, Tuesday, May 23, but it is also preparing to bid farewell to a pair of Emmy-winning series later this week. The most buzzed-about series currently on TV is HBO drama (or dark comedy) “Succession.” The story of the dysfunctional, billionaire Roy family will wrap up on Sunday, May 28 at 9 p.m. ET. It will be immediately followed at 10:28 p.m. ET by the series finale of dark comedy (or drama) “Barry,” about a retired hitman who gives up the gun to become an actor, only to be dragged back into the seedy underworld with devastating repercussions.
Normally, one major event in a given week is enough for any corporation to handle, so why is WBD stacking these three massive occasions on top of each other? Well, the answer might be as simple as exposure. The company has been touting the eventual merger of HBO Max and discovery+ since before Discovery officially acquired WarnerMedia last spring, so needless to say, there is a lot riding on this week’s launch.
Company CEO David Zaslav has long maintained that the ability to unify the vast libraries of the company’s legacy streamers was the key to WarnerMedia’s value in Discovery’s eyes. Therefore, if things don’t go smoothly for Max’s launch, or new customers aren’t interested in joining the suddenly massive service, it could be a problem for the company after having spent the last year cutting large swaths of content — much to the dismay of fans — only to finally emerge from the financial streaming hole last quarter.
One of the areas that WBD executives are hoping will encourage increased signups and engagement are a host of promising technological and user experience improvements on the new app. So, what better time to roll it out than when millions of viewers will be tuning in on Sunday night?
If Max is able to meet — or even exceed — the expectations of new and returning customers who log in to catch the finales on Sunday night, it would go a long way to engaging an even wider customer base than the 97.6 global streaming subscribers.
While a majority of those users will see their HBO Max apps automatically update to the new Max version, not all will, requiring them to be updated manually. However, there are even more people that either no longer subscribe to the service or never have, making Max’s inaugural week the perfect time to hook viewers with the swansongs of two beloved and critically acclaimed series.
However, that does present some issues for WBD. On Tuesday, there were reports of problems on the new app relating to existing subscribers being able to log in. While WBD has assured customers that the issue is isolated and being resolved, it does raise concerns over whether or not the rebuilt tech stack can handle the influx of viewers that will undoubtedly be logging into Max — perhaps for the first time — on Sunday night.
Warner Bros. Discovery chief product officer Tyler Whitworth explained that the next streamer was built in order to minimize the potential for a server crash at the most inopportune times. Rather than having to predict how much server capacity Max will need on a given night, the system is now responsive, allowing it to add extra servers to handle increased demand in real-time. This should help eliminate the possibility of a major cultural event downing the entire service.
“We’ve done a lot of testing to make sure that the different parts of the system handle the many, many, many customers that we get to come in to watch these wonderful shows,” Whitworth told The Streamable on Monday. “We anticipate the ‘Succession’ finale [this] upcoming weekend will be another one that we get millions and millions of customers to come in, and we’ll be ready and looking forward to deliver a good experience for them.”
While there have been a few bumps in the proverbial road for Max on launch day, if the service is able to right the ship in time for Sunday night and weather the onslaught of viewers for the “Succession” and “Barry” finales, this week very well could end up being an unmitigated success for a company that has had a tumultuous year in the eyes of many fans.
Max
Max is a subscription video streaming service that gives access to the full HBO library, along with exclusive Max Originals. There are hubs for content from TLC, HGTV, Food Network, Discovery, TCM, Cartoon Network, Travel Channel, ID, and more. Watch hit series like “The Last of Us,” “House of the Dragon,” “Succession,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and more. Thanks to the B/R Sports add-on, users can watch NBA, MLB, NHL, March Madness, and NASCAR events.