The world that we now inhabit is the one created for us by the biggest and best streaming platforms out there – but that doesn't mean those platforms always know what strategy to actually stick to. The perfect case in point has been provided today by the return of the HBO Max brand, if you ever noticed it actually leave.
A couple of years ago, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) made a change that was fairly widely mocked at the time, stripping the "HBO" from its streaming platform to rebrand it as purely "Max". The idea was, in theory, to help spotlight the fact that it had more to offer than just HBO content, although HBO remained the jewel in its crown.
Now, though, it's announced with similar pomp that it's reversing the change. In its own words: "Returning the HBO brand into HBO Max will further drive the service forward and amplify the uniqueness that subscribers can expect from the offering."
Far be it from me to say that this exemplifies exactly what makes people wonder just what highly-paid executives at these streaming sites actually do, but it's a pretty hilarious conclusion to a seemingly unending naming journey for HBO Max. It turns out that having your best asset in the name of your platform does help people to realise where they can watch it.
According to the WBD news post announcing the change, we can expect the brand to start shifting over during the course of the summer, which means it could really start happening at any moment given the date.
Of course, all of this really only applies to viewers in the US, where Max (now HBO Max, for goodness' sake) is a platform. Here in the UK, if you catch your HBO content through Sky Atlantic or Now (itself formerly Now TV), there's no change coming down the pike.
Still, if there's one thing that's guaranteed, it's that I'm about to enter at least a year of calling HBO Max by a new name: "HBO Max (formerly just Max)". This already marks the most times I'll have written my name in a story, so I'm looking forward to a whole heap more chances to beat the tally.
