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Everything old is new again. what goes around comes around. Time is a flat circle. And now Max is HBO Max again.
Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of the streaming service known for HBO content, announced on May 14th that the service party like it was in 2023, returning to its original name from the moniker “Max.”
In a presentation to advertisers in New York, the company described changes happening this summer as meeting consumer needs. “No consumers say they want more content today, but most consumers today say they want better content.” The name change represents the streamer’s new goal of curating high-quality content that appears to resemble HBO shows, such as the current hit “The Last of Us.”
David Theslav, CEO of Warner Bros Discovery, said in a news release that he “backs HBO, the brand that represents the highest quality in the media.”
“My team knows well what the HBO brand means to the industry and our consumers,” Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content, said in the presentation. The company “want to name it once more… I know you’re all shocked. The good thing is that I still have stationery.”
The name returns to a left turn from the company’s stance, when the service was renamed from HBO Max to Max, just two years ago in April 2023. Newly turned off the merger between Warner Bros. (owners of film studios of the same name, HBO, HBO Max, TNT, and more) and Discovery (owners of cable channels such as HGTV, Food Network, TLC, and Streamer Discovery+).
At the time, CEO Zaslav called for Discovery+ to be a “rendezvous with destiny” to combine Discovery+ with HBO Max, explaining that “every member of the family will go and see what they like at any time.”
Now, “We will continue to focus on what makes us unique. It’s unique and wonderful for adults and families, not everything for everyone in the home,” says the streaming president.
The new HBO Max has been somewhat chosen, with the brand focusing on programming such as “HBO, recent box office films, docusaries, specific reality series, MAX and local originals” and “eliminating other genres that reduce engagement and acquisition.”
What’s coming soon with HBO and HBO Max
The ad presentation also previewed upcoming content from HBO and newly reimmersed HBO MAX. In September, “Task,” starring Mark Ruffalo, is expected on HBO, a crime drama about an FBI agent investigating a drug robbery outside of Philadelphia. Other series include The Chair Company and It: Welcome To Derry, featuring Tim Robinson, a prequel to the Stephen King horror film about the origins of villain Pennywise.
According to Bloys, the next spin-off of “Game of Thrones,” “Knights of the Seven Kingdom,” will premiere in winter 2026. It is based on a novel by George R.R. Martin, author of “Thrones.”
Contributor: Gary Levin
