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Brand Errors

Scott Galloway critiques HBO Max's brand architecture, highlighting its failure to maintain the luxury brand image that HBO once held. He argues that the brand's expansion strategy, which includes adding a wide array of content, dilutes its value and confuses consumers. This move, according to Scott, is the worst brand decision in the last two decades, as it undermines the exclusivity that HBO was known for.

HBO was effectively a luxury brand, vertical, no commercials, could drop f bombs, and had a reputation and a culture, a culture for attracting and retaining the best talent front and behind the camera.

--- Scott Galloway

He believes that the brand's identity has been compromised, making it difficult for consumers to distinguish between its various offerings 1 2.

   

Market Challenges

In the competitive landscape of streaming services, Scott Galloway sees HBO Max struggling against giants like Disney+, Apple, and Amazon. He predicts that HBO Max's inability to clearly define its brand will lead to its underperformance in the market. Scott suggests that the platform's attempt to scale by adding diverse content is akin to diluting a luxury brand, which could result in a loss of shareholder value.

HBO Max doomed for failure, or what I would call an erosion of shareholder value.

--- Scott Galloway

He foresees a future where Time Warner might be spun out again due to AT&T's overvaluation of the acquisition 1 2.