Max's HBO Rebrand Is Live
The Hollywood Reporter reported on Tuesday that Warner Bros. Discovery would officially rebrand its Max streaming service to HBO Max on Wednesday, per a source familiar with the matter — and that change over is now live.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
'Big Bang Theory' Spinoff 'Stuart Fails to Save the Universe' a Go at HBO Max
HBO Max and Max Say "Twitter Won't Let" Them Swap X Names Back
Oscars: Mariska Hargitay's Jayne Mansfield Doc 'My Mom Jayne' Has Qualified, Campaign to Come (Exclusive)
The name change, first announced onstage at WBD's upfront presentation back in May, will see Max rebrand to HBO Max, the name it used from 2020 until 2023. 'I know you're all shocked, but the good news is I have a drawer full of stationery from the last time around,' HBO chief Casey Bloys quipped onstage at the upfront.
The pivot comes after WBD decided to change its streaming strategy and lean into the premium nature of HBO's offering, pulling back in some areas like unscripted and kids and family programming, rather than compete on scale with the likes of Netflix.
'This evolution has 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,' the company said in a statement in connection with the name change. '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-plus years than HBO.'
The HBO Max logo, which includes a simpler black and white color scheme, will replace Max within the existing app for users Wednesday. Unlike the transition from HBO Max to Max, no new downloading of apps or account changes will be required. (The brands are having trouble, however, getting X to change their names back on the platform.)
The name change comes during a somewhat slow month for the service, which debuted the Warner Bros. film Sinners earlier this month. Billy Joel: And So It Goes will debut July 18, and it will have content related to Shark Week later this month. But it also comes ahead of the open for Emmy voting, which begins in a couple of weeks. As usual, the service is expected to have a number of shows securing nominations, like the latest season of The White Lotus.
The change comes as WBD is set to undergo larger changes, with the company to be split in two next year. HBO Max will be part of a new company led by David Zaslav alongside the Warner Bros. film and TV studios, with the linear TV networks spun into a new company to be led by Gunnar Weidenfels.
The company is also taking HBO Max globally, launching the brand in 12 new markets this month.
Alex Sherman first reported the date of the rebranding.
This story originally posted July 8, at 2:48 p.m. and was updated Wednesday morning with the rebrand going live.
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
How the Warner Brothers Got Their Film Business Started
Meet the World Builders: Hollywood's Top Physical Production Executives of 2023
Men in Blazers, Hollywood's Favorite Soccer Podcast, Aims for a Global Empire
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Tom's Guide
an hour ago
- Tom's Guide
When is 'Superman' streaming? Here's our best guess
"Superman," surely one of the most anticipated summer movies of 2025, has arrived. As the first movie from James Gunn's DCU project, David Corenswet's Man of Steel has a lot of weight on his shoulders, but early signs suggest that critics and fans are on board with this more hopeful version of the Last Son of Krypton. As of writing, the movie's landed an 82% critics score and a 95% from fans on the review aggregate site, Rotten Tomatoes, with praise coming for the ensemble, the warm and fun feel, and a scene-stealing turn from Supes' four-legged friend, Krypto. In her "Superman" review, TG's own Alix Blackburn called it "a caped comeback to celebrate," and a movie that feels both "fresh and faithful" to DC's iconic hero. And, having seen the movie myself, I'd agree: "Superman" is a strong statement of intent for the DCU. It's a charming popcorn blockbuster and a movie that I'm sure countless Superman fans will love (even if it is a tad messy and is maybe juggling one too many moving parts). The movie takes us three years into this particular Superman's run, and sees him tangling with tech billionaire (and noted Superman hater) Lex Luthor (a brilliant Nicholas Hoult), who's determined to see the Man of Tomorrow gone for good. It's definitely a movie that you should experience on the big screen, in my opinion, but if you'd prefer to wait to stream it, we unfortunately do not yet have a "Superman" streaming date just yet. However, here's my best guess at when I think we might be able to watch the new release at home. At the time of writing, the only way to see "Superman" is by heading to your nearest movie theater, and that's unlikely to change for a while yet. After all, the movie only just came to the big screen on Friday, July 11. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. The first place you'll be able to stream it at home will surely be via premium video-on-demand (PVOD) storefronts like Amazon or Apple TV. Like I said above, we don't currently know when "Superman" will make its way to any streaming services. However, being a Warner Bros. movie, we can expect the movie will first be available on Warner Bros. Discovery's newly-renamed streamer, HBO Max. And if I had to guess when we might be able to watch the DCU's first movie at home, I'd wager James Gunn's "Superman" movie would arrive on HBO Max at the end of September 2025. That guess is based on the typical length of time we've waited for new releases to hit the streamer. For example, Ryan Coogler's hugely popular thriller "Sinners" came to HBO Max on July 4, which was 78 days after it first hit theaters. That's the same number of days we waited for "A Minecraft Movie", "Companion", and "Mickey 17" to hit HBO Max, too. So, 78 days seems like the magic number when it comes to Warner Bros. movies, which is why I think we won't see "Superman" soar onto the small screen until the fall. Counting off 78 days from the movie's release day would be Friday, September 26, 2025, and seeing as HBO Max's big movie drops (like those I've listed above) have happened on Fridays, I think that's a pretty compelling guess. Of course, I'll just stress once more that this is purely speculation, as we do not have a confirmed "Superman" streaming date at the time of writing. Plus, if the movie proves to be a box office smash, there's always the chance it remains in theaters a little longer. As soon as we hear anything about the streaming future of "Superman," we'll be sure to share that info here. And if you'd like to settle down in front of another movie while you wait, be sure to check out our guide to the best movies on HBO Max for tons of top streaming choices.
Black America Web
an hour ago
- Black America Web
Teyana Taylor Gushes On How Aaron Pierre ‘Handles' Her ‘Like A Cup Of Tea'
Teyana Taylor is always open to talking about her boo, Aaron Pierre, and now she's letting us know exactly how he handles her. In a teaser for an upcoming interview with Complex Music, the singer and actress revealed that her lion King is 'very gentle' and that his support of her new music was all the help she needed. 'It felt good to have someone be as passionate and as serious as you are,' Taylor said. 'When you work on something, you have a whole team that's supported, but nobody ever gonna see it the way you see it. Sometimes, you might get so passionate, they're looking at you like, 'chill out' but to have a person that's right there like 'yup! mhmmm', to have someone on your side fully hear you and don't think your visions are crazy, don't think that what you see or what you feel is crazy…' She continued, 'I'm really big on how you handle me, and I feel like you got to handle me like a cup of tea. How would you walk with a cup of tea versus how you would walk with a bottle of water? You walk with a bottle of water, you're like, shaking the water, you throwing it up and down. With a cup of tea you walk slower. You're more calm, you're more delicate. And even when you sip it, what happens if you sip the tea too, too fast? You're going to burn your tongue. I am a cup of tea.' Snap, snap, snap . Heard you, Teyana! 'I feel like he handles me as such, you know, he's very, very gentle. It allows me to feel warm and to feel safe and not be in survival mode,' she said in closing. Our girl has been basking in that pride rock loving since going public with Pierre during this year's Oscars after parties and has released visuals starring her new man for two tracks from her upcoming project, Escape Room . The latest, 'Bed of Roses' features the two sharing some sweet, intimate moments bed of roses, and the internet has not been able to handle all the heat. The teaser brought celebs like Winnie Harlow, Monica and Audra Day to the comments to gush over the hot couple. The cute visuals also feature a spoken intro from actress Issa Rae who seems to be telling the story of how Teyana and Aaron came to fall for one another unexpectedly. May that type of surprise find us all! It's unclear when the two may have started getting cozy, but it's obvious that they're both really into what they're building together. Not only did Tey throw him a surprise birthday dinner with both of their families and friends, she also brought him along to the BET Awards where she had her daughters, Junie and Rue Rose, by her side as well. Definitely seems like more than a summer fling and we're certainly here for it. The post Teyana Taylor Gushes On How Aaron Pierre 'Handles' Her 'Like A Cup Of Tea' appeared first on Bossip. SEE ALSO Teyana Taylor Gushes On How Aaron Pierre 'Handles' Her 'Like A Cup Of Tea' was originally published on
Tom's Guide
14 hours ago
- Tom's Guide
All 26 seasons of 'South Park' pulled from Paramount Plus — here's where you can still stream it in the U.S.
Paramount Plus subscribers outside of the U.S. just got one less reason to renew their subscription. Thanks to an expired license and ongoing negotiations for the rights to the series to continue, Paramount Plus has removed "South Park" from its international catalog. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount hopes to bring the series back soon for all subscribers, but in the meantime, unless you're based stateside or have one of the best streaming VPNs, you're SOL. Only a handful of "South Park" specials made exclusively for Paramount Plus remain on the platform outside of the U.S. The news of the expired international streaming license comes just days after Comedy Central, a subsidiary of Paramount Global, announced it's delaying "South Park" season 27 to July 23, two weeks after it was initially set to premiere on July 9. Strangely, while "South Park's domestic streaming license also expired over the summer, you can still watch it on Max in the U.S. Given the show's popularity, it seems Paramount is making an exception for American subscribers as the company remains locked in a streaming rights battle with "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. It just goes to show why Max is still our reigning champ for the best streaming service on the market. Streaming disputes are notoriously weedsy, but here's the long and short of it. Back in 2019, Max secured exclusive U.S. streaming rights for "South Park" in a $500 million deal. When Paramount Plus launched in 2021, international streaming rights shifted to the platform, which is owned by Comedy Central's parent company. With Max's deal expiring in June 2025, Paramount Global co-CEO Chris McCarthy went so far as to promise investors earlier this year that "South Park" would come to Paramount Plus in the U.S. "starting this July," according to Deadline. Clearly, he spoke too soon. Complicating things further is the looming Paramount-Skydance merger, originally set to close on July 6 but is now waiting for FCC approval. The deal would transfer Paramount's broadcast licenses to Skydance, including the two years left on its $900 million deal for the digital rights to "South Park." Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Meanwhile, Parker and Stone have been in talks with Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns Max, and Netflix over "South Park's" streaming rights, believed to be non-exclusive. The pair has threatened legal action against Paramount for purportedly interfering with negotiations. Time is running out to reach a resolution within the next 10 days, as a streaming deal needs to be finalized before "South Park's" Season 27 premieres on July 23. Its premiere has already been delayed once, and could be again if negotiations stretch on. At the very least, U.S. "South Park" fans can still easily watch the show on Max in the meantime, even if their international counterparts aren't so lucky.
