It’s a a full circle moment for the five-year-old platform.
On Wednesday, July 9, subscribers clicking on the Max streaming service were greeted with a rather familiar name.
This, as Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) officially rolled out the return of over-the-top platform’s original name, HBO Max, which was used from its inception in 2020 until 2023.
That effectively made the iconic HBO name, which has been around as a premium cable channel since 1972, prominently associated with the service anew—which also has content from other networks like CNN and the Cartoon Network.
The about-face was first announced in May 2025 by no less than the media conglomerate’s president and CEO, David Zaslav.
According to him in a statement, “The powerful growth we have seen in our global streaming service is built around the quality of our programming.”
The corporate leader also describe the reinstatement of HBO in the streamer’s name as a symbolic one, as the brand “represents the highest quality in media,” which would further accelerate that growth in the years ahead.
The decision to revert also came with the company’s plan to launch in more countries and territories this month, July 2025.
In the Philippines, where the Max streaming platform launched in late 2024, also joined the rest of the region in ushering its new era as HBO Max.
The country was also one of the last few ones where then-Max was launched, as its predecessor, HBO Go, continued to be available until November 2024.
Some of HBO Max’s popular franchises include ‘Game Of Thrones,’ ‘The White Lotus,’ and ‘Euphoria’.