Warner Bros. streaming service Max is changing its name back to HBO Max, the company announced yesterday. Warner Bros. Discovery rebranded its streaming service from HBO Max to Max almost two years ago. Now, the company has decided to return to its original name as viewers associate more with the HBO brand than simply “Max.”
As reported by IGN, Max is changing its name back to HBO Max. Warner Bros. Discovery revealed that the service’s profitability drew in nearly $3 billion in just two years, with 22 million more subscribers signing up to the streaming service in the past year. The company says it aims to have 150 million subscribers on the service by the end of 2026.
“This is thanks to an enormous amount of hard work, investment and re-focusing the strategy on the programming that is working best like HBO, recent box-office movies, docuseries, certain reality series, and Max and local originals, and de-prioritizing other genres that drive less engagement or acquisition,” said the company in a statement.
As for the name change, Warner Bros. says that people associate the HBO brand with quality content, home to shows like Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, The Sopranos, The Penguin, The Last of Us, Chernobyl, Succession and many other critically acclaimed TV shows. “This evolution has also been influenced by changing consumer needs, and the fact that no consumer today is saying they want more content, but most consumers are saying they want better content,” said Warner Bros., adding:
“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. 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.”
HBO Max still isn’t available in South Africa, though several shows from the service appear on Showmax.
Source: IGN
