Normally, Conan O’Brien and the “Inside the NBA” stars get the biggest laughs at a Warner Bros. Discovery (and before that, a Turner Networks) upfront. O’Brien wasn’t there, instead appearing via a quick, albeit hysterical, video mocking the wonkiness of ad speak. And despite TNT’s loss of the NBA , legend-turned-analyst Shaquille O’Neal still dropped by, but as part of a gag for the DC team promoting their upcoming “Superman” film.
Instead, the audience of ad buyers gathered at Madison Square Garden for Tuesday’s WBD upfront saved their biggest guffaws for the admittedly hysterical announcement that the company would rebrand its streaming service “HBO Max” — two years after dumping the “HBO” part of the name to just go “Max.”
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“I know you’re all shocked, but the good news is I have a drawer full of stationary from the last time around,” HBO and Max content chief Casey Bloys joked to the crowd — and clearly the WBD brass knew their surprise revert to “HBO Max” would be the subject of many a hot take (including Variety’s!) Max-turned-HBO-Max’s social media accounts have been making self-deprecating references to the change since the announcement, and even HBO Max CMO Shauna Spenley gave her spin of the famous Spider-man pointing meme — but instead with three Superman characters (more on WBD brand!) pointing to each other, with the names “HBO Go,” “Max” and “HBO Max.” Spenley also admitted that she couldn’t wait to see how “Last Week Tonight” host John Oliver will mock the name change on his next episode.
What does it say that the most entertaining moment of the upfront was that? Not only did it elicit laughs from the crowd, it also drew cheers. The other biggest reaction of the morning was also a bit tongue-in-cheek: As first reported by Variety, among Channing Dungey’s first pickups as head of U.S. networks at WBD (in addition to her role overseeing Warner Bros. TV Group) is the Discovery Channel Shark Week special “Dancing With Sharks” — hosted by “Dancing With the Stars” alum Tom Bergeron.
And that show is just what it sounds like: Trained divers in the water, performing dance routines with sharks. A clip showcasing the competition drew large belly laughs, as it should.
At nearly two hours, WBD produced a surprisingly long presentation despite no lengthy comedy routine or musical performances. Even David Zaslav decided to skip this year’s show. (Maybe he was busy updating HBO Max’s email addresses.)
Still, there was reason for a victory lap, and WBD leaned into its hit franchises to promote the theme “Like No Other” and promote its heft in streaming, sports, networks and film. The event opened with a deep dive on the success of HBO’s “The White Lotus,” touting the show’s “White Lotus Effect” in the media. Stars Leslie Bibb, Carrie Coon, Michelle Monaghan briefly slipped back into their characters — complete with backhanded compliments – to introduce Warner Bros. Discovery Ad Sales co-Presidents Ryan Gould and Robert “Bobby” Voltaggio.
Gould and Voltaggio’s industry ad-speak included the introduction of a new “NEO” ad platform, which O’Brien, in that pre-tape, jokingly pitched the idea frantically via video.
Among other moments, John Cena came out to hype Season 2 of his HBO Max series “Peacemaker,” while Noah Wyle came out to big applause to bask in the glory of “The Pitt” and its upcoming Season 2. (By the way, “The Pitt” will get a linear run on TNT this fall.)
After sheepishly revealing the return of the HBO Max brand, Bloys shared first looks at the “Game of Thrones” spinoff “Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” as well as the long-awaited IT series “Welcome to Derry.”
In her section on the U.S. networks, Dungey revealed upcoming titles including HGTV’s “Renovating the Bachelor Mansion,” a Dick Wolf/Vanity Fair collab at ID, a new Guy Fieri show at Food Network and a show from Octavia Spencer.
No NBA, but Turner Sports tried to downplay that by touting some of its other franchises, including NCAA basketball, NHL and tennis. A quick news segment featured Anderson Cooper and Audie Cornish, as well as Tony Shalhoub talking about bread.
WBD saved the DC for last, as James Gunn and Peter Safran, co-chairmen and CEO of DC Studios showcased a new “Superman” trailer, as introduced by superfan O’Neal.
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