Warner Bros. Discovery’s flagship streaming service will return to its original HBO Max name on Wednesday, ending an ill-starred two years when it has been known as Max.
The timing of the shift, which was announced to a theater full of stunned (yet amused) advertisers last May during WBD’s upfront presentation, was confirmed to Deadline by a person familiar with the rebrand.
When they announced the back-to-the-future move last May, executives cited the momentum from adding 22 million subscribers over the prior year and expanding the global footprint. They also said their goal was to “amplify the uniqueness” of the service for viewers drowning in an ocean of programming. Hints of the change appeared last spring, as Max’s color scheme changed from blue to dark grey. The new logo preserves the rounded letters of the original HBO.
WBD, which was formed in 2022 after the merger of Discovery and WarnerMedia, initiated the name change as part of an effort to blend programming from Discovery’s unscripted networks with HBO and other fare. The mix never quite took, as executives later conceded, and data showed that those enjoying The White Lotus or The Penguin were unlikely to go on to sample My Lottery Dream Home. The sentiment arose internally at the company to restore the name of one of the media world’s most potent brands to the name of the service. Discovery+, a service launched by Discovery prior to the merger, remains available as a stand-alone offering.
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During the upfront event, streaming and gaming chief JB Perrette and HBO and Max content head Casey Bloys highlighted the progress made in streaming since HBO Max launched in May 2020, and then walked ad buyers through the logic of the rebrand. When Bloys made the big reveal, it drew audible laughs and a ripple of applause at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden. “I know you’re all shocked,” the exec quipped, “but the good news is I have a drawer full of stationery from the last time around.”
Turning more serious, he added, “With the course we are on and strong momentum we are enjoying, we believe HBO Max far better represents our current consumer proposition.”
The 2023 rebrand to Max didn’t prevent the service from adding subscribers and drawing strong viewership. Even so, the own goal in terms of brand image wound up being one of several strategic missteps after the merger, which has seen shares in WBD sink to a fraction of their price at the close of the deal.
Refining the company’s streaming strategy has also taken on new urgency now that WBD intends to split its streaming and studios business from its cable TV networks. That separation is targeted to close by mid-2026. With Max completing a rollout to most of the world, including the key territories of the UK, Germany and Italy that had been encumbered by a longstanding Sky output deal with HBO, the restoration of the HBO name could also be particularly timely.
WBD is due to report its second-quarter earnings in the coming weeks. In its first-quarter report, it said it had reached 122.3 million total streaming subscribers. The company long ago stopped breaking out HBO’s linear subscriber base as well as the portion of the streaming total accounted for by Max (soon HBO Max) alone.
CNBC’s Alex Sherman first reported the timing of the name change.