When we offhandedly say, “Please, no more plus’d-up streaming services,” I have to admit this isn’t what we expected as an alternative. Since WarnerMedia and Discovery’s merger in 2021, David Zaslav and his team have been firm on combining the company’s two streaming services: HBO Max and Discovery+. It seemed only natural to do so, but with a relaunch date in the summer of 2023, the streamer has yet to gain a new name — or a new pricing plan for the inevitable hike. Although this morning, CNBC reported that the top-contender name being discussed among executives at Warner Bros. Discovery is — drumroll, please — Max. Yes, they want to take HBO away from HBO Max. (We have to assume taking the plus sign from Discovery+ was a bit too basic.) No decisions have been made officially, and a Warner Bros. Discovery rep similarly confirmed to us that the name for the streamer “is still being discussed.”
While Max is quite the name for a streaming service (better suited for a dog — though, to be fair, there’s already a Pluto), it comes as no shock that HBO would be dropped from the name. Long before the merger, and even as soon as HBO Max was announced, there had always been speculation about whether HBO Max would (or should) be renamed in an effort to safeguard the HBO brand. Putting Chip and Joanna Gaines side by side with the Roys of Succession probably wasn’t necessarily the goal HBO execs had in mind. What can we say? Coming up with a new streaming-service name is proving tough. Just ask the many pluses.
