THE STREAMING REBELLION WINS

Warner Bros. Discovery just dropped a BOMBSHELL at their Upfront presentation – they’re KILLING the “Max” name and bringing back the legendary HBO Max branding this summer. This is a VICTORY for subscribers who’ve been screaming into the void since 2023.

“HBO Max far better represents our current consumer proposition… content that is recognized as unique and worth paying for.”

Casey Bloys, Chairman & CEO of HBO and Max Content

HOW WE GOT HERE: A TALE OF TWO NAMES

Let’s rewind the tape on this streaming TRAINWRECK:

• 2023: WBD nukes the HBO Max name for “Max,” promising 35,000 hours of content from Discovery, CNN, Food Network and more
• The Reality: Subscribers HATED the generic name that buried HBO’s premium reputation
• 2025: WBD finally LISTENS, cutting hundreds of low-performing reality shows (RIP “Ghost Adventures”)

THE NUMBERS DON’T LIE

Despite the branding chaos, HBO Max/Max is CRUSHING it:

• +22 MILLION new subscribers in past year
• On track for 150M+ subs by 2026
• Proving QUALITY (House of Dragon, Last of Us) beats QUANTITY (90 Day Fiancé spin-offs)

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU

This isn’t just a name change – it’s a PHILOSOPHY shift. WBD is:

• DOUBLING DOWN on prestige HBO content
• CUTTING the reality show bloat
• SENDING A MESSAGE: “We hear you, we messed up, we’re fixing it”

The lesson? When you’ve got a CULTURAL ICON like HBO in your name, you DON’T bury it under generic branding. Welcome back, HBO Max – we missed you.