HBO Max will be back starting tomorrow.
Warner Bros. Discovery will officially rebrand its Max streaming service to HBO Max on Wednesday, July 9, a source familiar with the matter confirms to The Hollywood Reporter.
The name change, first announced onstage at WBD’s upfront presentation back in May, will see Max rebrand to HBO Max, the name it used from 2020 until 2023. “I know you’re all shocked, but the good news is I have a drawer full of stationery from the last time around,” HBO chief Casey Bloys quipped onstage at the upfront.
The pivot comes after WBD decided to change its streaming strategy and lean into the premium nature of HBO’s offering, pulling back in some areas like unscripted and kids and family programming, rather than compete on scale with the likes of Netflix.
“This evolution has 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,” the company said in a statement in connection with the name change. “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-plus years than HBO.”
The HBO Max logo, which includes a simpler black and white color scheme, will replace Max within the existing app for users Wednesday. Unlike the transition from HBO Max to Max, no new downloading of apps or account changes will be required.
The name change comes during a somewhat slow month for the service, which debuted the Warner Bros. film Sinners earlier this month. Billy Joel: And So It Goes will debut July 18, and it will have content related to Shark Week later this month. But it also comes ahead of the open for Emmy voting, which begins in a couple of weeks. As usual, the service is expected to have a number of shows securing nominations, like the latest season of The White Lotus.
The change comes as WBD is set to undergo larger changes, with the company to be split in two next year. HBO Max will be part of a new company led by David Zaslav alongside the Warner Bros. film and TV studios, with the linear TV networks spun into a new company to be led by Gunnar Weidenfels.
The company is also taking HBO Max globally, launching the brand in 12 new markets this month.
Alex Sherman first reported the date of the rebranding.
