Two years after controversially dropping the “HBO” from its name, Warner Bros. Discovery is officially reversing course. At its 2025 Upfront presentation, the company confirmed that its flagship streaming service, Max, will once again be known as HBO Max beginning this summer.
The announcement comes with a splash of self-awareness. HBO’s social team posted a meme from Euphoria captioned “What she said”, responding to a viral image of a character exclaiming “Bitch, you better be joking.”It’s a tongue-in-cheek nod to how absurd the original rebrand felt — and how widely anticipated this reversal was.
A Rebrand No One Asked For
The decision to rebrand HBO Max as simply Max in 2023 was supposed to signal a broader, all-inclusive platform that merged premium HBO content with Discovery’s reality-heavy catalog. The idea was to appeal to more demographics by moving beyond HBO’s “prestige-only” image.
Instead, as TechCrunch reported, it confused subscribers, diluted the brand, and stripped away what HBO had long stood for: quality, exclusivity, and cultural impact . The Max name never stuck, and many users never embraced it.
“We believe HBO Max far better represents our current consumer proposition,” said Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO and Max content. “It clearly states our implicit promise to deliver content that is recognized as unique and — to steal a line we always said at HBO — worth paying for.”
Quality Over Quantity, Again
Part of the original rebrand’s failure was its emphasis on more, not better. When Max launched, it touted over 35,000 hours of content. But the expanded catalog — including shows like 90 Day Fiancé and Ghost Adventures — failed to drive the engagement WBD had hoped for. Earlier this month, the company quietly removed hundreds of hours of such titles .
The return to HBO Max signals a return to what made the service valuable in the first place: a curated selection of high-quality programming that viewers trusted.
“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,” said JB Perrette, President and CEO of Streaming at WBD .
Rebuilding the HBO Identity
Even before the official announcement, there were signs that WBD was preparing to walk back the Max branding. The company shifted Max’s blue branding back to HBO’s iconic black and white scheme and began emphasizing HBO titles in its marketing.
At the Upfront, CEO David Zaslav said the move was about reinforcing HBO as a symbol of “quality” to accelerate global growth . The message was clear: HBO hits different, and they want subscribers to remember that.
The decision was also framed as a bold strategic correction. “Returning the HBO brand into HBO Max will further drive the service forward and amplify the uniqueness that subscribers can expect,” the company said in a release .
When Will the Name Change Happen?
Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed that the name change will go live this summer. While no exact date was shared, the rebrand is expected to align with major content drops to maximize visibility.
Despite the branding chaos, the platform has remained one of the top streamers globally, adding 22 million subscribers in the past year alone and aiming for 150 million by 2026 .
A Meme, a Lesson, and a Second Chance
For all the jokes, HBO Max’s return marks a rare moment in corporate branding: a company admitting it got it wrong — and actually fixing it. The Euphoria meme wasn’t just damage control; it was acknowledgment. A wink to an audience that never really stopped calling it “HBO Max” anyway.
The streaming wars have taught us that identity matters. And for HBO, its name is its promise.
Let’s hope they keep it this time.
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