Max gives up, brings back HBO Max name (again)

Summary

Warner Bros. Discovery is renaming its streaming service back to HBO Max.
HBO Max was renamed to Max back in 2023. Two years later, it’s coming back.
The name change is expected to take effect this summer.

Back in 2020, Warner Media launched

HBO Max
, its premium streaming service for all things HBO and Warner Brothers. Then in 2023, after the Warner Bros. and Discovery merger, the streaming service was renamed to just Max, a name that never really stuck with most people.

Now, after spending millions of dollars to market the Max rebrand for its streaming service, Warner Bros. Discovery has decided to rename the service once again, and you’ll never guess what they have decided to call it:

That’s right, at its Upfront presentation in New York City recently, CEO David Zaslav revealed that Warners Bros. Discovery is once again naming its streaming service HBO Max.

“The powerful growth we have seen in our global streaming service is built around the quality of our programming,” Zaslav said (via THR). “Today, we are bringing back HBO, the brand that represents the highest quality in media, to further accelerate that growth in the years ahead.”

MAX

Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming service, Max, is being renamed back to HBO Max this summer.

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HBO Max is returning this summer

HBO Max is coming back to life like Jon Snow

Max

The Max app has begun notifying users about the upcoming name change, stating, “Same App. New-ish name. The Plot twist everyone’s been waiting for: Max is becoming HBO Max.” The name change is expected to go in effect this summer.

Warner Bros. Discovery appears to be making light of the funny situation it has put itself in, as seen on its HBO Max X account that shared a video of Jon Snow’s resurrection from season six of Game of Thrones, paralleling the revival of the HBO Max name. Taking it a step further, the Max X account poked fun at X’s name change, saying, “Your move, @X” playfully referencing Elon Musk’s controversial renaming of Twitter to X in 2023.

Max also posted its take on the popular Spider-Man pointing meme, and a reference to the recent election of a new Pope.

Max is well-known for many popular HBO shows, like The Last of Us, currently in its second season, Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, Succession, The Penguin, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Last Week with John Oliver, and the list goes on. Without HBO, Max simply wouldn’t be the major contender in the streaming space that it is now, so the name reversal does make sense to me.

“Returning the HBO brand into HBO Max will further drive the service forward and amplify the uniqueness that subscribers can expect from the offering,” Warner Bros. Discovery said in a statement.

It really boggles the mind why Warner Bros. Discovery changed the name in the first place, and it seems the company has finally realized how important the HBO name is. Max is set to become HBO Max again this summer, but no exact launch date for the transition has been revealed yet.