Max to HBO: We are getting back together.
Defying Taylor Swift’s break-up anthem—but conforming to industry predictions—Warner Bros. Discovery revealed during its TV upfront presentation that Max will once again become HBO Max. The rebrand is set to happen over the summer, just in time for HBO’s fall season.
“The powerful growth we have seen in our global streaming service is built around the quality of our programming,” WBD head David Zaslav noted in a statement. “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 restoration of HBO Max marks the culmination of a five-year journey that started in May 2020 when the streaming service originally launched under the company’s previous owners, AT&T. When it debuted, the streamer programmed new and classic HBO series alongside Max originals like Love Life and Raised by Wolves.
But before you could say “The Flight Attendant,” AT&T got cold feet about the media business and sold its acquisition to Zaslav’s Discovery, Inc. in 2022. The following year, HBO Max morphed into Max with the stated intention of spotlighting the WBD’s full suite of content.
“HBO has not and is not changing course at all,” Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO and Max content, emphasized at the time.
In the end, it was Max that changed course, not HBO. Bloys elaborated on the return of HBO Max at the WBD upfront, held at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, pointing to the “strong momentum” that convinced WBD to move forward by turning back the clock.
