Two years after its rebrand, the streaming service “Max” is going back to its old name: “HBO Max.” The switch reflects what many customers never stopped calling it.
The announcement follows a recent logo update that mirrored the classic HBO black-and-white look, according to Variety. The familiar style hinted at what was coming.
Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed the change in a press release. “Returning the HBO brand into HBO Max will further drive the service forward,” the company stated. “It is also a testament to WBD’s willingness to keep boldly iterating its strategy and approach.”
WBD CEO David Zaslav told advertisers, “The powerful growth we have seen in our global streaming service is built around the quality of our programming.” He added, “Today, we are bringing back HBO... to further accelerate that growth in the years ahead.”
The Max brand was originally created to signal a broader range of content, aiming to compete with platforms like Netflix. But the name never really stuck with viewers.
Despite the name change, WBD says its wide-ranging content won’t go anywhere. “We will continue to focus on what makes us unique,” said JB Perrette, head of streaming.
He added, “Not everything for everyone in a household, but something distinct and great for adults and families... Our programming just hits different.”