Two years after changing the name of HBO Max to just Max, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) is reversing its decision. Starting this summer, Max is going to be rebranded as HBO Max.
It turns out that it may have been a bad idea dropping the well-recognized HBO brand name from the Max streaming service and opting for a much more generic name. In a blog post explaining the decision, WBD says that the HBO brand is best known for its consistent, high-quality content, which is what the company wants to focus on.
This evolution has also been influenced by changing consumer needs, and the fact that no consumer today is saying they want more content, but most consumers are saying they want better content. With other services filling the more basic needs with volume, WBD has clearly distinguished itself through its quality and distinct stories, and no brand has done that better and more consistently over 50+ years than HBO.
WBD says that the decision to go back to HBO Max demonstrates the company's willingness to use "consumer data and insights" to "position itself for success," suggesting the name change and the effort to include Discovery content for a wider audience wasn't popular with customers.
WBD Streaming CEO JB Perrette said that going forward, HBO Max won't provide "everything for everyone," but "something distinct and great for adults and families."
The HBO service has undergone several rebranding efforts over the years. The first HBO streaming service was known as HBO Go, and it later became HBO Now. HBO Now was rebranded as just HBO, and then it became HBO Max. After that it was just Max, and now we're back to HBO Max.
