HBO Max
Updated: Wikipedia source
HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service, a proprietary unit of Warner Bros. Streaming on behalf of Home Box Office, Inc., which is itself a division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). The platform offers content from the libraries of Warner Bros., Discovery Channel, HBO, CNN, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Animal Planet, TBS, TNT, Eurosport, and their related brands. HBO Max first launched in the United States on May 27, 2020. HBO Max is the fourth most-subscribed video on demand streaming media service, after Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and Netflix, with 128 million paid memberships worldwide. The service also carries first-run original programming under the "Max Originals" banner, programming from the HBO pay television service, and content acquired via either third-party library deals (such as those with film studios for pay television rights) or co-production agreements (including, among others, those with BBC Studios and Sesame Workshop). When the service was first launched as HBO Max, it succeeded both HBO Now, a previous HBO SVOD service; and HBO Go, the TV Everywhere streaming platform for HBO pay television subscribers. In the United States, HBO Now subscribers and HBO pay television subscribers were migrated to HBO Max at no additional charge, subject to availability and device support. HBO Max also supplanted the streaming component of DC Entertainment's DC Universe service, with its original series being migrated to HBO Max as Max Originals. The HBO Max service began to expand into international markets in 2021. According to AT&T, HBO and HBO Max had a combined total of 69.4 million paying subscribers globally on June 30, 2021, including 43.5 million HBO Max subscribers in the U.S., 3.5 million HBO-only U.S. subscribers (primarily commercial customers like hotels), and 20.5 million subscribers to either HBO Max or HBO by itself in other countries. By the end of 2021, HBO and HBO Max had a combined total of 73.8 million paying global subscribers. At the end of Q1 2022, HBO and HBO Max had 76.8 million global subscribers. Since the April 2022 merger of WarnerMedia with Discovery, Inc. to form Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), HBO Max is one of the combined company's two flagship streaming services, the other being Discovery+ (which primarily focuses on factual and reality programming from the Discovery brands). WBD initially announced plans for HBO Max and Discovery+ to merge in 2023, but the company ultimately chose to retain Discovery+. As part of the decision, WBD migrated some Discovery+ shows to Max while also leaving them on Discovery+. WBD went on to replace HBO Max with a newly rebranded service, shortening the service's name to "Max", which launched in the United States on May 23, 2023, in Latin America and Caribbean on February 27, 2024, and in Europe on May 21, 2024, introducing a redesigned user interface, and adding more Discovery content. The rebrand was also applied to Netherlands, Poland, France, and several other regions in 2024. In Belgium and the Netherlands, the name "HBO Max" was retained with a new Max logo. As of May 2025, Discovery+ and Max have reached a combined total of 122.3 million subscribers. On May 14, 2025, it was announced that the "HBO Max" branding would return, reverting to its original name on July 9, 2025.