Pause ads will be utilized, as well as interactive ads. Those include mid-roll offerings like a one-click reveal where users can see a surprise message, promotion or trivia answer after scrolling; and carousel, an ad experience where brands can showcase multiple products.
Other interactive ads include extendable, where consumers can open a branded hub on mobile or connected TV devices; and locator, which encourages in-store purchases with information on nearby merchants.
“We’re not new to this,” JB Perrette, CEO and president, global streaming and games, Warner Bros. Discovery, said during Wednesday’s presentation. “We understand what we’re doing from our legacy of working with advertisers and streaming both here in the U.S. on the HBO Max and Discovery+ platforms, and also abroad in Europe, that you can collaborate with us to maximize your exposure.”
For Max’s launch, the company is in the middle of the “biggest marketing campaign ever,” according to Perrette.
“We’re equally excited about our pathways to keep building a future that deeply involves you, our advertisers,” he said.
Max with Ads will launch at $9.99 per month or $99.99 for the year.
Sports and news reign supreme
Though Warner Bros. Discovery kicked off its presentation touting streaming platforms Max and Discovery+, the company quickly dove into its news and sports content.
CNN CEO Chris Licht took the stage and unveiled a new on-air graphics package launching in June. Licht also revealed that Kaitlan Collins will officially step in as the network’s new 9 p.m. anchor.
“CNN’s role in society has never been more critical than it is right now,” Licht said. “We are in critical times, and no one can cover those times like CNN can, on every platform, as it happens.”
The NBA on TNT team took the stage in a pre-recorded segment, giving a pitch to advertisers through a riff on the halftime show.
Luis Silberwasser, chairman and CEO of WBD Sports, emphasized the group’s strong sports portfolio, including baseball, NBA, NHL, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament and the national women’s and men’s soccer tournaments. The Stanley Cup also appeared onstage—the only talent that wasn’t a WBD executive.
Linear pushing unscripted content
The final segment of the show took the lid off Max content, with Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO and Max content, also acknowledging the lack of celebrities on stage.
“I am hopeful that a fair resolution is found soon with the writers that would, of course, return talent to the stage—let’s be honest, making this a far more entertaining show,” said Bloys.
