And identical to that, Max is HBO Max once more

It’s official, people: HBO Max is again. 

Streamers awakened this morning to an replace that changed the “Max” on their apps with “HBO Max,” placing an finish to a rebranding train that by no means fairly took maintain. 

“It’s good to be Dwelling,” a press launch on the web site of HBO Max mother or father Warner Bros. Discovery mentioned, full with the brand new—previous?—icon for the HBO Max app.  

Warner Bros. even put out a YouTube video to mark the event: 

The transfer places the capper on a three-year-old saga that started when then-WarnerMedia merged with Discovery. With that merger got here the choice—a poor one, because it turned out—to show HBO Max from the streaming dwelling of adult-focused fare to an enormous tent with “a broad array of high quality selections for everyone.” Thus got here the transfer to rebrand “HBO Max” as simply “Max.” 

Instantly there was a tradition conflict, with Discovery’s extra family-friendly actuality reveals like Home Hunters Worldwide, Property Brothers, Deadliest Catch, and Mythbusters sitting uneasily beside HBO’s gritty grownup dramas and comedies as Home of the Dragon, True Detective, And Simply Like That, Veep, and Hacks.  

The confusion manifested itself as Warner Bros. Discovery executives argued whether or not upcoming reveals like the brand new Harry Potter collection could be an “HBO Authentic” or a “Max Authentic.” In the meantime, many streamers merely ignored the re-brand and caught with calling the app “HBO Max.” 

Ultimately, firm execs realized the entire “Max” factor simply wasn’t going to occur, and introduced an about-face in Could.  

Other than the title change, not all that a lot is totally different in regards to the “new” HBO Max. Home of the Dragons and Mythbusters are nonetheless there, as are different HBO and Discovery reveals, though many kid-friendly titles like Teen Titans, Ed, and Edd n’ Eddy are already gone, having been shed again in late 2024. 

Nevertheless it’s clear that HBO Max is doubling down on the “HBO” half in its title, whereas Warner Bros. Discovery is present process an inevitable breakup that would result in Discovery content material going darkish on HBO Max for good. (Firm execs say they’re nonetheless figuring out the small print of the break up, which received’t be finalized till subsequent 12 months.)

Palace intrigue apart, HBO Max is again. And as for “Max,” I doubt many people will miss it.