WBD renames "Max" to "HBO Max"
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HBO Max logo. Courtesy of Warner Bros. Discovery
Warner Bros. Discovery on Wednesday announced that this summer it plans to change the name of its streaming service "Max" to "HBO Max," a name that was previously used to describe Warner Media's direct-to-consumer service before it merged with Discovery+ to form Max.
Why it matters: Highlighting the HBO branding sends a signal to consumers that the streaming service will lean into high-quality programming, instead of focusing mostly on its breadth of shows.
Zoom out: The writing was on the wall.
- In March, Max changed its color scheme and typeface to evoke HBO's branding, a sign that it was possibly shifting back.
The big picture: The new marketing is the latest in a long list of rebrands for HBO under multiple ownership changes.
- Under its former owner, AT&T, HBO's parent Warner Media developed HBO Max as a standalone streaming service in 2020.
- That service was preceded by two other streaming iterations called HBO Now and HBO Go.
- When Warner Media merged with Discovery a few years later, it merged HBO Max with Discovery+ to create Max.
Between the lines: AT&T's acquisition of Warner Media forced the company to shift a lot of its programming strategy.
- HBO's longtime boss and creative talent ambassador Richard Plepler left the company after AT&T decided it wanted to focus on streaming scale over quality.
- WBD retained HBO's branding as the creative engine for some of its streaming programming and its cable channel, but the HBO brand became second to Max in WBD's streaming portfolio.
By the numbers: Max finally turned a profit in 2024. The service has 122 million global subscribers as of 2025. In its announcement about the change Wednesday, the company said it sees "a clear path" to over 150 million subscribers by the end of 2026.
- "With the course we are on and strong momentum we are enjoying, we believe HBO Max far better represents our current consumer proposition. And it clearly states our implicit promise to deliver content that is recognized as unique and, to steal a line we always said at HBO, worth paying for," said Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content.
