Warner Bros. Discovery Announces Max to Become HBO Max this Summer

Warner Bros. Discovery's release reversing its own streaming rebrand, worth studying for how openly it explains the business reasoning, subscriber growth and consumer research, behind bringing back a retired brand name.

The release, as issued

517 words, copied from wbd.com on Sep 23, 2026. The text belongs to Warner Bros. Discovery.Found by searching for Warner Bros Discovery HBO Max name change news and reading the official announcement in the WBD pressroom

Warner Bros. Discovery Announces Max to Become HBO Max this Summer

May 14, 2025 – At the Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront presentation in New York today, it was announced that Max, the company’s premier streaming platform, will be rebranded HBO Max this summer.

WBD’s streaming business has incredible momentum, turning around its profitability by almost $3B in just two years and scaling globally with 22M subscribers added over the past year, with a clear path to over 150M+ by the end of 2026. This is thanks to an enormous amount of hard work, investment and re-focusing the strategy on the programming that is working best like HBO, recent box-office movies, docuseries, certain reality series, and Max and local originals, and de-prioritizing other genres that drive less engagement or acquisition.

This evolution has also 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. 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+ years than HBO.

Returning the HBO brand into HBO Max will further drive the service forward and amplify the uniqueness that subscribers can expect from the offering. 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.

David Zaslav, President and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, said: “The powerful growth we have seen in our global streaming service is built around the quality of our programming. Today, we are bringing back HBO, the brand that represents the highest quality in media, to further accelerate that growth in the years ahead.”

During the WBD Upfront on stage at Madison Square Garden, JB Perrette, President and CEO of Streaming, and Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content, provided further details on the upcoming change.

Perrette: “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. It’s really not subjective, not even controversial – our programming just hits different.”

Bloys: “With the course we are on and strong momentum we are enjoying, we believe HBO Max far better represents our current consumer proposition. And 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.”

HBO Max® is the premier global streaming platform from Warner Bros. Discovery that delivers the most unique and captivating stories, ranging from the highest quality in scripted programming, movies, documentaries, true crime, adult animation, and live sports and news (where available). HBO Max is the destination for prestigious entertainment brands such as HBO, Warner Bros., Max Originals, DC, Harry Potter, A24 Films, as well as iconic shows like “Friends” and “The Big Bang Theory,” all in one place.

Jeff Cusson

Jeff.Cusson@wbd.com

Jaclyn Mandelbaum

Jaclyn.Mandelbaum@wbd.com

Dateline as issued: May 14, 2025 –

Headline

Warner Bros. Discovery Announces Max to Become HBO Max this Summer

States the old name, the new name, and the timing in one line without hedging on what is actually changing.

Lead paragraph

At the Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront presentation in New York today, it was announced that Max, the company's premier streaming platform, will be rebranded HBO Max this summer.

Names the venue, the platform, and the exact new name in one sentence, telling readers precisely what is changing.

Body

WBD's streaming business has incredible momentum, turning around its profitability by almost $3B in just two years and scaling globally with 22M subscribers added over the past year, with a clear path to over 150M+ by the end of 2026.

Backs a rebrand, normally a marketing decision, with hard financial and subscriber numbers instead of only creative language.

Quote

The powerful growth we have seen in our global streaming service is built around the quality of our programming. Today, we are bringing back HBO, the brand that represents the highest quality in media, to further accelerate that growth in the years ahead.

The CEO's quote frames a reversal as a return to strength rather than admitting the earlier name change was a mistake.

Quote

With the course we are on and strong momentum we are enjoying, we believe HBO Max far better represents our current consumer proposition.

A content executive's quote adds a second, more product-focused justification alongside the CEO's business framing.

Each passage above is quoted from the release; the note under it is this site's reading.

Why it works

The headline states the old name, the new name, and the timing in one line, so the core change is clear immediately.
The lead names the exact venue and platform, telling readers precisely what is changing and where it was announced.
The release backs the rebrand with hard numbers, almost 3 billion dollars in profitability improvement and 22 million subscribers added, instead of only creative language.
It uses three separate executives, the CEO and two content leaders, to reinforce the same message from different angles.
The release frames what is really a reversal of an earlier rebrand as a forward step, never directly stating the previous name change underperformed.

A prompt to write one like it

Paste this into the AI tool you use, then answer its questions with your own facts. It copies the structure, not the wording.

Write a press release for [YOUR COMPANY] announcing [YOUR NEWS]. It is a Rebranding release.

Model it on the structure of Warner Bros. Discovery's release "Warner Bros. Discovery Announces Max to Become HBO Max this Summer", without copying its wording.

Structure, in this order:
1. Headline
2. Dateline
3. Lead paragraph
4. Body
5. Body
6. Quote
7. Body
8. Quote
9. Quote
10. Boilerplate
11. Media contact

Techniques to apply:
- The headline states the old name, the new name, and the timing in one line, so the core change is clear immediately.
- The lead names the exact venue and platform, telling readers precisely what is changing and where it was announced.
- The release backs the rebrand with hard numbers, almost 3 billion dollars in profitability improvement and 22 million subscribers added, instead of only creative language.
- It uses three separate executives, the CEO and two content leaders, to reinforce the same message from different angles.
- The release frames what is really a reversal of an earlier rebrand as a forward step, never directly stating the previous name change underperformed.

Avoid: The release never explicitly says the earlier Max rebrand fell short, it only implies it through contrast with HBO's history, so a reader relying on this release alone would not learn why the change is really happening.

Ask for any missing facts instead of inventing them.
Do not invent quotes or numbers.
Keep it under 500 words.
Use plain, direct language.
End with ###.

Or start from the blank

The rebranding template has the same parts in the same order. Fill it in on the page and download it.

Fill in the rebranding template

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