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Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) announced on Wednesday that it’s bringing the “HBO (WBD)” back to its streaming service Max, following the disastrous rebrand that had baffled industry experts and users alike.
Starting this summer, Max will once again be named HBO Max, according to the company.
“Returning the HBO brand into HBO Max will further drive the service forward and amplify the uniqueness that subscribers can expect from the offering,” the company said in a press release. “It is also a testament to WBD’s willingness to keep boldly iterating its strategy and approach – leaning heavily on consumer data and insights – to best position itself for success.”
WBD President and CEO David Zaslav said, “We are bringing back HBO, the brand that represents the highest quality in media, to further accelerate that growth in the years ahead.”
The company dropped HBO, the name of its premium cable channel, from the platform in 2023, following a series of earlier rebrands of the streaming service, which used to go by HBO Go and HBO Now.
Many wondered why the company dropped the HBO branding from the streaming service’s name in the first place given the prestige it held.
The company seemed to be in on the joke Wednesday, posting jokes on social media about the changes and even including a meme in its press release.
The official account for Max on X changed its bio to “These rebrands are trying to murder me,” a reference to actress Jennifer Coolidge’s line in Season 2 of “The White Lotus,” where her character said, “Please, these gays. They’re trying to murder me.”
Max also posted jokes about the rebrand on its account.
The market seemed somewhat ambivalent to the news, with WBD stock dropping 0.82% as of noon on Wednesday.