This is the day Max will launch in Australia
Yesterday there was an industry news report that the creative agency Special will lead the launch of Warner Bros Discovery streamer Max when it launches in Australia. Special will handle brand strategy, advertising, earned media, and content.
As per Mumbrella:
WBD’s local director of marketing and publicity, Sasha Mackie, said: “Launching a brand like Max is a once-in-a-lifetime, so we needed an agency as bold as the opportunity.
“Enter Special: from day one, they nailed it with a pitch concept that’s punchy, innovative and unapologetically Max. We can’t wait for Australia to see what’s coming – it’s going to be special in every sense of the word.”
I’m not sure what “unapologetically Max” means. Does the streaming home of Dr Pimple Popper really have anything to apologise for? Uhhh…
What caught my interest was this paragraph on the topic from
newsletter :When Max goes live, with April 11 firming as a launch date, Foxtel will lose rights to WBD’s content, including the HBO library. Foxtel and Binge subscribers will wake up to discover they can no longer watch the likes of House of the Dragon, Succession and White Lotus.
April 11, eh? Tim is a pretty well connected guy, so I’m sure he has Friday April 11 circled on his calendar with some insight. April 11 also syncs up nicely to launch just days before the return of HBO’s hit show The Last of Us (back for season 2).
But, I’d suggest that if it does launch in the week around April 11, it’ll actually be a few days earlier on April 8. If you look at all of Max’s launches, they take place on a Tuesday.
On Tuesday November 19 Max launched in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand as well as Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
Max itself launched (well, rebranded from HBO Max) in the US on Tuesday May 23. The South American launch/rebrand took place Tuesday Feb 27, 2024. Europe was Tuesday May 21, 2024. Poland & France was Tuesday June 11, 2024.
The only time a Tuesday launch doesn’t hold is when Max is launching within another app, as it has in territories like Japan and New Zealand.
Why Tuesday? I’m actually not sure - I’m guessing it is a dull reason to do with staffing of engineering teams and having everyone on board when the button is flicked to run tests and the like.
When Netflix was going global, Tuesday launches were common there too.
Just for braggings sake (and what a lame brag it is), I recall being the only journalist in Australia to pick the Netflix launch date exactly (I remember my guess and what led me to it being of interest to some visiting Netflix execs a month or so prior). That was Tuesday, March 24, 2015.
News Desk
Whoa. 202 million viewers were subjected to seeing H.E.R.B.I.E. in the new Fantastic Four trailer in the first 24 hours since it was posted online. Read: THR
A temporary restraining order was granted in an LA court to block Sony from cancelling it’s deal with CBS to distribute Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! Read: Variety
Ben Affleck will star opposite Gillian Anderson in new Affleck-directed Netflix film Animals. Read: Dark Horizons
A fifth season of The Trip will enter production with speed freak Steve Coogan behind the wheel once more thanks to a plea to British courts. Read: Variety
Now that Disney has shrunk down the release window for movies in France, Netflix, Max, and Prime Video are also seeking the same. Read: Variety
US viewers can watch an odd-assortment of free Warner Bros movies that have been uploaded legally to YouTube.
A few weeks ago in the newsletter I wrote about the globalisation of sports and mentioned interest by the NFL of pushing into Australia. It begins here with an announcement that an in-season NFL game will be held in Melbourne. Read: Nine News
Trailer Park
Umjolo: There Is No Cure debuts Feb 14 on Netflix.
After losing her title for publicly exposing a scandal, a former pageant queen works on a tell-all book - all while her love life remains unwritten.
That’s the newsletter for today.
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