The streaming service Max is returning to its roots and reviving its classic name: HBO Max. This comes almost two years after Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) announced that the streaming service would undergo a rebrand by dropping HBO from its name. WBD chief David Zaslav announced during a presentation to advertisers in New York on Wednesday that “today, we are bringing back HBO, the brand that represents the highest quality in media, to further accelerate that growth in the years ahead.” The rebrand was also posted on the Max app with an announcement that read: “The plot twist everyone’s been waiting for: Max is becoming HBO Max!” A WBD press release Wednesday stated how “returning the HBO brand into HBO Max will further drive the service forward and amplify the uniqueness that subscribers can expect from the offering.” The company teased a potential return to the streaming service’s original branding two months ago when it changed Max’s new blue and white color palette to HBO Max’s original monochrome interface. Chairman and CEO of HBO and Max content, Casey Bloys, previously said in 2023 that “the same people who are concerned today about taking HBO out of the name” are the same ones “who were outraged that HBO was put in the name in the first place.” He backtracked on these statements Wednesday, claiming that “we believe HBO Max far better represents our current consumer proposition” and clearly states the service’s goal of making content that is “worth paying for.”
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