Max is now HBO Max. Again. No, I'm not joking. Less than two years after Warner Bros. Discovery changed the streaming service and ditched the HBO brand name, they've finally come to their senses and admitted that maybe HBO is why people want Max.

The branding saga of the name of HBO Max offers a clear lesson for marketers: when a rename threatens familiarity, consistency and clear messaging, customers will push back.

Warner Bros. Discovery isn't cracking down on all Max freeloaders immediately, so those borrowing a log-in to catch up on "The White Lotus" have time.

WBD CEO David Zaslav announced the move, with the company declaring, "no consumer today is saying they want more content, but better content."

May 15 (UPI) -- HBO has announced that the name of its streaming service is changing back from Max to HBO Max this summer. HBO Max is what the platform was known as when it launched in 2020, but the HBO portion of the name was dropped in 2023 as its parent company sought to give it its own identity.

In 2023, the streaming service HBO Max became simply "Max." This summer, Warner Bros. executives are changing the name back.

That's according to Warner Bros Discovery's CEO of streaming, JB Perrette, who explained during a conference call that "the password sharing crackdown... will take 12 months to 18 months to get to full steam".

Max has announced that the streaming service will revert to its old name "HBO Max." Executives say they're going for quality over quantity.

HBO Max launched on May 27, 2020, consolidating content from HBO, Warner Bros., and additional WarnerMedia-owned properties. The HBO Go service was discontinued in the U.S. later that year, providing a unified streaming destination for U.S. subscribers.

Max will become HBO Max again this summer, Warner Bros. Discovery said this week — two years after the name change that hasn't stuck. Here's what to know about the rebrand (and some others of note).