


They say you can’t go home again, but apparently, the streamer Max didn’t get the memo.
Correction: It’s HBO Max now.
The streaming service Max announced on Wednesday that it is reverting to its old name, HBO Max, which it used when it debuted in 2020.
In a statement explaining the move, Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of Max ― oops! HBO Max ― said reverting to the original name “will further drive the service forward and amplify the uniqueness that subscribers can expect from the offering.”
Back in 2023, WBD reportedly dropped “HBO” from the brand’s name out of concern that it wasn’t perceived as “family friendly.”
But during the company’s upfront presentation in New York at Madison Square Garden this week, JB Perrette, WBD’s president and CEO of streaming, said the new/old name helps “focus on what makes us unique — not everything for everyone in a household, but something distinct and great for adults and families.”
People at the event reacted to the name change with what The Hollywood Reporter described as “laughter, light applause and exactly one whistle.”
“I know you’re all shocked, but the good news is I have a drawer full of stationery from the last time around,” joked Casey Bloys, the CEO of HBO and Max content.
The streamer had some fun announcing its “new-ish name” on social media, posting: “What is dead may never die.”
The streaming account for Max, not HBO Max ― got it? ― also understood the assignment and mocked the name change.
But despite the fanfare, people on social media found it all a bit confusing.
Meanwhile, there were suggestions that a name change might be in order for another media platform: The one formerly known as Twitter.