Warner Bros. Discovery is set to revert its streaming service’s name back to HBO Max, a title it initially dropped just two years ago. This announcement came during the company’s upfront presentation in New York, signaling a renewed commitment to its flagship brand.
CEO David Zaslav highlighted the shift as part of a strategy to concentrate on high-quality programming and storytelling. “The powerful growth we have seen in our global streaming service is built around the quality of our programming,” Zaslav stated. “Today, we are bringing back HBO, the brand that represents the highest quality in media, to further accelerate that growth in the years ahead.”
Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming platform has seen a significant turnaround in profitability, improving by nearly $3 billion over the past two years. The company added approximately 22 million subscribers last year, and aims to surpass 150 million subscribers by the end of 2026.
Despite this growth, Warner Bros. Discovery will lose its rights to stream live NBA games starting next season, raising concerns about competitive positioning against major players like Netflix, which boasts over 300 million subscribers. The company is prioritizing debt reduction over aggressive spending on new content.
The initial branding of HBO Max was intended to reflect the company’s global streaming ambitions. However, the rebranding to HBO Max emphasizes a shift in focus towards quality rather than quantity. “We will continue to focus on what makes us unique – not everything for everyone in a household, but something distinct and great for adults and families,” JB Perrette, the president and CEO of streaming at Warner Bros. Discovery, said. “It’s really not subjective, not even controversial – our programming just hits different.”
Disney has adopted a similar approach, with CEO Bob Iger indicating that success in streaming hinges on quality content during recent investor discussions.
Legacy media companies have had difficulty achieving profitability with their streaming services since launching them in recent years. This has led to a rising focus on advertising tiers, restrictions on password sharing, and various streaming bundles.
The Upfronts week in New York has been rife with naming announcements, with ESPN revealing its new flagship streaming app will simply be called ESPN, while Finance Newso announced the name for its upcoming streamer as Finance Newso One. Recently, Comcast’s cable portfolio spinoff also revealed its new holding company will be named Versant.
HBO Max was originally launched in 2020 while still under AT&T’s ownership, with the “Max” designation suggesting a diverse array of content, including reality shows, documentaries, children’s programming, and movies alongside HBO’s prestigious titles. Initial leadership decisions perceived HBO’s audience as too narrow and largely U.S.-centric, prompting the integration of HBO as a sub-brand within a broader streaming offering.
The service was later renamed to Max in 2023 following the merger of Discovery Communications and WarnerMedia, which was divested from AT&T in 2022. Back then, a significant portion of Discovery+ content was introduced to the HBO Max platform.
Now, just two years later, Warner Bros. Discovery is making a strategic reversal.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of Finance Newso. The proposed cable portfolio spinoff will establish Versant as the new parent company of Finance Newso.
