Discovery+ And HBO Max Look To Be Getting An Unimaginative Merger Name
Few stories in the world of entertainment made as many headlines over the course of 2022 as the merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery did. The two massive media companies joined forces in the summer, and, as a result, many projects were shelved, placed on hiatus, or outright canceled during the shake-up. Of course, this is just the beginning, as things continue to shift and settle in the wake of the merger.
While the DCU has gained a new sense of direction, "Don't Worry Darling" and "Black Adam" turned reasonably good profits for Warner Bros. Discovery (via Forbes), there are still new announcements coming in regularly about how the conglomerate will focus its efforts as time goes on. Luckily for fans of HBO Max, it looks like the popular streaming service will be sticking around for the time being. All the same, the company is considering a new name for the service that's a bit shorter and snappier.
The proposed new name for HBO Max could simply be Max
According to a report from Variety, Warner Bros. Discovery is currently considering switching the name of their streaming service to just "Max." With the bevy of new content that has migrated to the service following the merger between the two companies, a new name does make sense. However, fans looking for something more exciting in the proposed moniker for the service might feel a bit let down by the name.
All the same, pivoting away from the HBO name to focus on all of the content of the service is very sensible and pragmatic from a business perspective. While things like this take time, should the name go forward and gain enough cache, it will come to stand for all aspects of the many brands at the heart of the company rather than focusing so heavily on the prestige television of HBO.
CEO J.B. Perrette of Warner Bros. Discovery offered a statement concerning the vision that the company will have going forward. "Bringing HBO Max and Discovery+ together is aimed at cutting churn so 'there's something for everyone in the household,'" Perrette said.
Still, J.B. Perrette was clear about the importance HBO still wields as a brand within the conglomerate. "HBO will always be the beacon and the ultimate brand that stands for television quality," the president and CEO said. Honestly, if Warner. Bros Discovery does decide to stick with Max as a name, they could definitely do a lot worse than the snappy, single-syllable moniker.