Max-ed out: WBD u-turns on streamer name

Warner Bros Discovery is making a u-turn on the name of flagship streamer Max with the brand re-adding ‘HBO’ to its title this summer. 

The announcement to return to the moniker HBO Max came during WBD’s Upfront presentation today (14 May) and comes two years after the US giant dropped the HBO in a bid to avoid diluting or confusing the existing high-end cable brand or the general entertainment streamer. 

WBD’s reasoning for the volte-face is down to audiences demanding better content rather than simply more.  

“With other services filling the more basic needs with volume, WBD has clearly distinguished itself through its quality and distinct stories, and no brand has done that better and more consistently over 50+ years than HBO,” it said.

“Returning the HBO brand into HBO Max will further drive the service forward and amplify the uniqueness that subscribers can expect from the offering.  

“It is also a testament to WBD’s willingness to keep boldly iterating its strategy and approach – leaning heavily on consumer data and insights – to best position itself for success.” 

The David Zaslav-led company has been scaling its streaming business a little slower than some of its main rivals Netflix and Disney, but has seen growth in recent times, most recently registering an 8% revenue bump to hit $2.7bn (£2.03bn) with profits hitting $339m (£255m) in Q1 this year.   

Max – soon to be HBO Max – has seen 22m subscribers added over the past year, with WBD forecasting growing that number to 150m-plus by the end of 2026.  

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

JB Perrette, president and chief exec of streaming, added: “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. It’s really not subjective, not even controversial – our programming just hits different.” 

The platform is due to come to the UK in 2026 after the culmination of the existing WBD-Sky output deal, which ends at the end of the year.