Call me by my former name.
Warner Bros. Discovery is changing the name of its streaming service yet again.
The streaming platform originally launched with the name HBO Max in 2020. In a much-discussed move, executives decided to ditch the “HBO” and change the name of the service to Max in 2023.
Now, WBD President and CEO David Zaslav has announced that the company is changing the name again … this time back to HBO Max. The rebrand will take effect this summer.
“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,” Zaslav said.
The announcement came during the WBD Upfront presentation on Wednesday. Casey Bloys, the CEO of HBO and Max content, talked more about the rebrand while onstage at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
“With the course we are on and strong momentum we are enjoying, we believe HBO Max far better represents our current consumer proposition. And it clearly states our implicit promise to deliver content that is recognized as unique and, to steal a line we always said at HBO, worth paying for,” Bloys said.
The service currently known as Max replaced a service called HBO Now, which encountered a name change to HBO Go. That means the name of the company’s streaming platform has changed from HBO Now to HBO Go to HBO Max to Max, before returning to HBO Max this summer.
Warner seems to acknowledge the humor in the situation. Their press packet announcing the change included a meme from Friends, with Ross Geller as Max declaring, “We were on a break!” to the Rachel Green representing HBO.
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