Two years after Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) rebranded its streaming service to Max, the company is back to its old name. On Wednesday, the company announced the good news in its upfront presentation, and the name change became official this summer.
When Max was launched in 2023, the improved platform was positioned as a subscriber victory, with access to 35,000 hours of entertainment, new features, updated interfaces and improved overall performance.
The HBO Max streaming service included programming from not only HBO content but also from all WBD-owned networks such as CNN, Discovery Channel, Food Network, HGTV, TLC, and more, so a name change was made to eliminate confusion. Furthermore, the change is intended to expand its appeal beyond adult audiences, and incorporates more family-friendly titles from the discovery.
Despite these intents, many viewers criticized the name change. Now it appears that WBD has reevaluated its approach. Instead of focusing on a large amount of diverse content, streaming services prioritize quality programming.
Before WBD, Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO and MAX Content, said, “With the courses we enjoy and the strong momentum, we believe HBO Max is far superior to our current consumer proposition.
According to a Reddit post, WBD reportedly removed hundreds of hours of titles earlier this month, including several “90 Days” spinoffs and “Ghost Adventures.” So, Discovery’s reality show, which originally intended to raise the biggest names, appears to have not promoted enough engagement for streamers.
Nevertheless, HBO MAX remains one of the top streaming services. The company touted the growth of the announcement, reporting 22 million subscribers added over the past year, and is on track to reaching over 150 million by 2026.