Why Did HBO Max Become Max? Behind the Streamer’s Relaunch Strategy

variety.com:

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor This week, HBO Max faded to black — and was reborn as Max. But many people are still wondering: Why did Warner Bros.

Discovery decide to change the name? HBO, after all, remains a solid-gold brand representing premium-quality original TV shows, going back decades, from “The Sopranos” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” to “Game of Thrones” and “Succession.” Meanwhile, Max, as observers have pointed out, is a pretty generic name from a branding standpoint. (Note that the Twitter handle @Max belongs to Instacart co-founder Max Mullen, while on Instagram it’s held by hockey star Max Domi, a forward for the Dallas Stars.) Here are the two basic reasons Warner Bros.

Discovery chose to excise HBO from the HBO Max with the relaunch: SEE ALSO: Max Launch: All the TV Shows, Movies Coming to Expanded Streaming Service All the same, senior execs “heavily debated” the name change, Perrette revealed.

They did “look fairly briefly at various alternatives that could include Warner or include WB or could include the [HBO] brand,” he told reporters last month. “And we just felt like, that was sort of not necessary.