The Max streaming service will officially rebrand as HBO Max starting from tomorrow (Wednesday July 9th).
The name change back to the original HBO Max name, which the service had from 2020 to 2023, was first announced onstage at Warner Bros. Discovery’s upfront presentation in May.
Warner Bros. Discovery originally ditched the HBO part of the branding to allow for a wider inclusion of content on the service – namely the various Discovery titles.
The aim was for current HBO premium shows like “House of the Dragon,” “The Last of Us” and “The White Lotus” and back catalogue titles like “The Wire,” “Deadwood” and “Game of Thrones” to sit comfortably alongside Discovery’s mountain of trashy reality series like “Naked and Afraid,” “Deadliest Catch” and “90 Day Fiancé”.
Since then however, the streaming bubble has burst as less shows are being greenlit overall and the economics of streaming are much more in play. Similarly consumers are pushing for more quality over quantity when it comes to their services.
As a result, there’s has been a shift of focus by WBD towards the premium nature of HBO’s offering while cutting back on unscripted and family programming.
It comes at a quiet time for the service following a busy early 2025. Little is on offer this month beyond last week’s debut of “Sinners” and ongoing new seasons of “And Just Like That” and “The Gilded Age,” but things pick up again soon with shows like “IT: Welcome to Derry” and “Peacemaker”.
Source: Alex Sherman
