Is Max rebranding to HBO Max again?
Critics said at the time that dropping the HBO name was a critical branding error. Now, Warner Bros. Discovery seems to be conceding the point.
WASHINGTON — After rebranding as Max in 2023, HBO’s streaming platform is returning to its original name, HBO Max, this summer.
The announcement came as part of Warner Bros. Discovery’s major Upfront presentation on Wednesday, where the company laid out future plans for the streaming service and highlighted the work that has gone into creating content for it.
When the service rebranded in 2023 to focus on unscripted programming, it dropped the HBO branding to become “Max.”
Critics stated at the time that dropping HBO from the name was a critical branding error, leaving behind the name synonymous with massively popular shows such as Game of Thrones and The Wire.
Now, Warner Bros. Discovery seems to be conceding the point.
At the presentation, company officials said that the streaming service has had strong momentum over the past several years as Max. The platform in 2023 became the first to actually become profitable, and followed up by increasing profitability by almost $3 billion by 2025.
Why was HBO Max rebranded to Max in the first place?
The rebrand came on the heels of Discovery’s 2022 buyout of Warner Bros. Company leaders at the time laid out a grand vision of the streaming platform’s future, combining high-quality and award-winning programming like HBO has been known for in the past with more unscripted, reality-show style content popular in today’s media landscape.
The change back to HBO max indicates executives aren’t happy with how that merger has gone.
During the presentation, Warner Bros. Discovery’s President and CEO of streaming, JB Perrette, said HBO Max would focus more on the content that differentiates it from competitors such as Netflix and Hulu.
“We will continue to focus on what makes us unique – not everything for everyone in a household, but something distinct and great for adults and families,” he said. “It’s really not subjective, not even controversial – our programming just hits different.”
When is Max rebranding back to HBO Max?
The rebrand will officially happen sometime in the summer, as HBO lays out its fall lineup for 2025.
Expected among that lineup are “It: Welcome to Derry,” a spin-off of the popular Stephen King story about a monster disguised as a clown and “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” the latest Game of Thrones spin-off.