US EditionWarner Bros. Discovery’s streaming service Max becomes HBO Max
- Warner Bros. Discovery announced on May 14, 2025, that its streaming service Max will return to the HBO Max name this summer.
- This decision follows a rebranding two years ago that removed HBO from the streaming service’s name, a move that confused experts and users.
- The company cited the growing importance of HBO’s brand equity and admitted Max failed to become an essential service, prompting a strategy shift focused on quality and adult programming.
- The service has doubled U.S. Ad-supported subscribers in the past year, with nearly half choosing that option, and viewership rose 20% year-over-year in April 2025.
- By restoring HBO to the streaming platform’s name, WBD aims to leverage its premium brand to accelerate growth and differentiate the service in a competitive market.
68 Articles
68 Articles
HBO’s no good very bad rebrand
It's not TV, it's HBO. No, sorry, it's HBO Go. And also HBO Now. But now it's HBO Max, except wait, now it's not HBO at all? It's just Max? Actually, I'm being told it is once again HBO Max. Thank you for joining us on this wild and utterly nonsensical branding journey. Please keep watching The White Lotus. On this episode of The Vergecast, Nilay, David, and The Verge's Jake Kastrenakes start the show with some personal news before digging into …
The rebrand that went full circle: HBO Max to new HBO Max
The HBO Max rebrand saga highlights how quickly brand equity can be undermined when recognition cues are disrupted. (Shutterstock)Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) recently announced the streaming app Max will revert to the name HBO Max this summer. The move comes only two years after HBO was dropped from the brand name. The announcement has sparked a wave of commentary on social media, including self-aware humour. HBO’s social media team posted meme…
Warner Bros. Discovery to Change ‘Max’ Back to ‘HBO Max’
First it was HBO Max. Then just Max. Now, in an announcement that feels less like a rebrand and more like a corporate U-turn, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) says it’s bringing back the original name. The change back to HBO Max will launch in summer of 2025. The post Warner Bros. Discovery Has Decided to Change ‘Max’ Back to ‘HBO Max’—Because Branding is Hard appeared first on That Park Place.
The streaming platform Max is getting a new name: its old name, HBO Max
Max will become HBO Max again this summer, Warner Bros. Discovery said this week — two years after the name change that hasn't stuck. Here's what to know about the rebrand (and some others of note).
“No one ever called it max anyways”: fans mock Max name change back to HBO Max
US streaming service Max has announced that it will be reverting back to its original name, HBO Max, from summer 2025. The pivot has led to a deluge of mockery from viewers online. Created by Warner Bros Discovery, the owners of premium network HBO, the service launched as HBO Max in May 2020. Almost exactly three years later, the name was changed to Max, along with a logo redesign. The name change was controversial, and onlookers questioned why…
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