‘You better be joking': Internet has a field day as Max becomes HBO Max (AGAIN)

It's time for yet another plot twist; only this time, everybody knows the spoiler!
Popular streaming service Max is changing its name – yet again – and the *new* branding is (insert some drumroll) going back to being
HBO Max
.
The decision was announced on May 14, by
Warner Bros. Discovery
during a presentation in New York. HBO chief executive Casey Bloys announced that the company's streaming platform, Max, would revert to its previous name, HBO Max. WBD executives emphasized that the move is an attempt to emphasize its strongest offerings.
The change restores the recognizable HBO branding, which has been on something of an adventure ever since the early days of streaming services.
Max chief marketing officer Shauna Spenley said on Wednesday, 'We all know this industry is cluttered. Streaming has become a lot like fast fashion,' adding, 'So when we think about our competitive advantage, it's the same one that we've had at HBO for the last 50 years.'
"Max is becoming HBO Max!"
WBD changed HBO Max's name to Max in 2023 shortly after WarnerMedia and Discovery merged, creating WBD, in 2022. The company originally rebranded the service as HBO Max in 2020, having pivoted away from the previous name HBO Now, which it announced in 2015.
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To sum up the chronology – there was HBO Go (2008), HBO Now (2015), HBO Max (2020), Max (2023) and now, once again, HBO Max (2025).
Why is Max becoming HBO Max.. again?
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said in a statement that the company decided to reintroduce the HBO moniker because it "represents the highest quality in media." Warner Bros. Discovery isn't just changing the name of 'Max.'
According to a release posted following the announcement, Warner Bros.
Discovery's streaming business has added 22 million new subscribers over the past year, with a path to 150 million plus by the end of 2026. They credit the work, investment, and refocusing the strategy on programming that is working best, such as HBO, recent box-office movies, docuseries, certain reality series, and Max and local originals.
Moreover, the company revealed the decision was driven by consumers wanting quality over quantity when it comes to content.
'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,' CEO David Zaslav said of the change.
The internet reacts:
While the reason behind the name change may be business-driven, the internet couldn't help but poke fun at the to-and-fro ritual of the company! In fact, HBO and Max themselves became quite a sport and took part in the meme-marathon on social media!
Quoting one of its extremely popular shows, 'Euphoria', Max called upon its inner Maddy Perez, remarking, 'B****, you better be joking!'
In another post, Max shared a GIF of another HBO show, "True Detective," which includes actor Matthew McConaughey's character (Detective Rustin "Rust" Cohle) saying, "Everything we've ever done or will do we're gonna do over and over and over again."
The caption for the post reads: "Explaining to my friends I work at HBO Max again."
Keeping up with the relevance of the latest papal conclave, Max made another post, with the streaming service writing: "BREAKING: White smoke was seen coming from the Warner Bros. water tower. A new brand has been chosen."
"What do we think?" one of the streaming service's social media posts, which included a meme from the HBO show "Veep," said.
Max also didn't forget the evergreen Spider-Man meme and recreated the same with their ever-changing names.
To take it a notch further, HBO Max declared, with the photo of Jon Snow, presumably dead (Re:
Game of Thrones
Season 5 Finale), 'What is dead may never die. HBO Max coming this summer. Same app, new-ish name.'
Some other internet users joked about how much time was spent deliberating over the name change. One of them remarked, 'It makes me wanna die thinking how many meetings were held about this one decision,' while another commented, 'me explaining how HBO went from HBO Now to HBO Go to HBO Max to Max then back to HBO Max.'
One internet user sort of announced the foreseeable future of HBO Max and said, 'Can't wait until HBO MAX just goes back to being HBO.' Another just asked the folks to 'Make up your mind!' Someone else happily admitted, 'I never deleted the HBO MAX app.'
However, perhaps the best bit came from the team of 'The Last of Us', where they shared a photo of a smiling Joel and asked, 'can we bring him back too?'
The name change is slated for this summer.
8-year-old with rare disease becomes 'Iron Man' for a day

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