HBO Max is poised to drop the “HBO” from its name in less than two weeks, as Warner Bros. Discovery tries to pitch the higher-priced streaming service it built around the cable brand to a broader set of subscribers.
Yet Warner Bros. Discovery may be missing a key factor about HBO’s appeal: Some of its top shows share audiences with competitors’ top properties, suggesting that it could effectively market the service to their rivals’ customers. An analysis of Parrot Analytics’ data — which takes into account consumer research, streaming, downloads and social media, among other engagement — shows a significant overlap in demand between certain HBO shows and properties on Disney+ and Paramount+.