Over a year after the multi-billion merger between Discovery and Warner Bros. took place and plans from David Zaslav’s regime to rebrand its streaming service formed, the deed has been done. Warner Bros. Discovery has rebranded its streaming service as Max, striking the HBO part from the brand name. For the better part of the last year, it has been reported that plans were in place to rebrand the service which is home to renowned IPs like Game of Thrones, The Last of Us, Harley Quinn, and more.

The viewership numbers for the streaming service have broken and set new records for the service, with series like House of the Dragon and The Last of Us. Zaslav made the announcement during a press event at Stage 14 on its Burbank lot, and called 2022 “a year of coming together, a year of restructuring, and now off we go, all together to build Warner Bros. Discovery into the next century,” noting 2023 is the year that marks 100 years for the Warner Bros. brand.

Speaking of the rebranded streaming service, he said, “From the biggest superheroes to real-life champions; from culture-shaping dramas to taste-shaping entertainment; from fantastical realms to the realest of worlds, Max will offer an unrivaled range of choice. This new brand signals an important change from two narrower products, HBO Max and Discovery+, to our broader content offering and consumer proposition. While each product offered something for some people, Max will have a broad array of quality choices for everybody.”

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Image via HBO Max

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The Major Restructuring of Warner Bros. Discovery

When Discovery merged with Warner Bros., the former also took responsibility for a lot of existing debt. The new management has made sweeping changes to manage the content and streamline the business. The first shake-up was felt with the cancellation of the Batgirl movie last year in August for tax purposes, which was near completion in post-production. The move not only shook the talent associated with the project but the industry as a whole starting a wave of cancellations.

Merging the two streaming services is another move in a new direction for the company. JB Perrette, President & CEO, Global Streaming & Games, Warner Bros Discovery, divulged during the event that the aim of blending Discovery and Warner content in a single service is to stand out “in a sea of streaming services”. Adding, “In this era of peak confusion, we’re trying to simplify and improve the experience for consumers.”