WBD To Rebrand Streaming Service As HBO Max..Again

Warner Bros. Discovery announced on Wednesday that its streaming service will revert to its original name, HBO Max, effective immediately, restoring the branding from its 2020 debut. The company had dropped “HBO” in 2023, rebranding to Max, a move that frustrated many fans of the iconic HBO brand.

After a rocky start, the service has gained traction over the past year by focusing on premium adult-oriented content like The Last of Us and Hacks, moving away from a broad, all-audiences approach. By the end of 2024, Max had amassed 117 million global subscribers, with Warner Bros. Discovery projecting growth to over 150 million by the end of 2026.

“HBO represents the pinnacle of quality in media, and we’re bringing it back to drive the service’s future,” said Warner CEO David Zaslav.

The decision to drop “HBO” in 2023 sparked internal and industry-wide debate, given HBO’s decades-long reputation for prestige programming. Casey Bloys, HBO and Max content chief, acknowledged Wednesday that the company had been overly cautious with the HBO name. “The brand is too powerful not to leverage for growth,” he said.

Some HBO loyalists feared the brand could be diluted by its association with Discovery’s reality shows, such as Dr. Pimple Popper and My 600-lb Life, which joined the platform after the 2022 WarnerMedia-Discovery merger.

 
As recently as March 2025, Warner executives defended the Max name. JB Perrette, head of global streaming, told The Wall Street Journal that pairing HBO with Max risked undermining HBO’s 50-year legacy. On Wednesday, Perrette reversed course, stating, “HBO defines quality, distinction, and uniqueness better than any brand in the industry.”

The return to HBO Max signals Warner Bros. Discovery’s renewed commitment to capitalizing on HBO’s storied reputation to bolster the service’s market position.

CNN’s launch of CNN Max on September 27, 2023, as a DTC streaming news hub on the Max platform was a strategic pivot after CNN+’s failure in 2022. By integrating with Max, CNN aims to reach younger, cord-cutting audiences with 24/7 news, simulcasts of cable shows, and original programming, all at no extra cost to Standard and Premium Max subscribers. The move addresses the decline of linear TV but faces challenges, including tensions with cable operators, potential cannibalization of CNN’s cable revenue, and uncertainty about audience demand. While CNN Max benefits from Max’s scale, its long-term success depends on balancing streaming innovation with CNN’s traditional business model.