Warner Bros. Discovery has finally confirmed that HBO Max will be rebranded as Max. The new name is meant to represent the fact that the new service will offer more than just the HBO Max content we have become used to.
Ever since Warner Bros. and Discovery Inc. merged it was expected that the two standalone streaming services would also combine. This had already started to take effect to some degree with Discovery Plus content making its way over to HBO Max.
Today, Warner Bros Discovery simply made that change more official by confirming that the new service will be branded as Max. In addition to confirming the new name, Warner Bros. Discovery has also confirmed that the new version of the streaming service will begin streaming on May 23, 2023.
For many existing subscribers, the change should be seamless with the current HBO Max app on various platforms automatically updating to the new Max app. For some, however, they may need to manually replace their HBO Max app with the new Max app.
Below is Warner Bros. Discovery’s official promotional video for the new Max streaming service.
It had previously been suggested that Discovery Plus would effectively shut down as part of the changeover from HBO Max to Max. More recently, however, it was confirmed that Discovery Plus will continue to operate as a standalone streaming service. The idea will be to ensure those that just want access to Discovery and related content will be able to continue just paying for that content.
At the same time, HBO Max will continue to offer much of the same content as before, albeit also with even more Discovery Plus-related content as well.
In addition to the improvements in content, the new Max service will also boast some changes to the interface that are designed to improve the general user experience.
In terms of the price, the cost of the new Max service won’t be any different to the current HBO Max pricing. That is, the ad-supported version will cost $9.99 while the ad-free version will cost $15.99 per month.
However, for those that do want an ultimate Max experience, the streaming service will be introducing a new Ultimate plan priced at $19.99 per month.
