Following AT&T's sale of Warner Bros. to Discovery, Inc last year, the newly-combined Warner Bros Discovery promised that its streaming services would be combined. The big change now has a due date, along with a new name for the service.

Warner Bros Discovery announced today that its enhanced streaming service will be called "Max" -- dropping the HBO brand that has stuck around since its initial days as HBO Go and HBO Now. It will be released as an update to the existing HBO Max service, and your watch lists and history won't go anywhere. You won't even have to install a new app. If you have access to HBO Max through your phone carrier, cable TV, or another company, you should get a message soon telling you how the migration will work.

The service will keep all existing HBO Max content -- what's left of it, anyway -- while adding everything produced for Discovery's TV networks and the Discovery+ streaming service. Most of that catalog is reality shows, like Chopped, Ghost Adventures, Darcey & Stacey, Rock the Block, and Home Town. Warner also announced several new movies and shows currently in development for Max, including a new comedy series based on The Big Bang Theory, a Game of Thrones prequel, a series based on The Conjuring films, Rick and Morty: The Anime from Adult Swim, and others.

Warner isn't changing the current pricing structure, though there is an additional tier being added. Max with ads will cost $9.99 per month or $99 per year, and the ad-free plan will be $15.99/mo or $149.99/yr -- just like HBO Max today. There will be a new "Ultimate Ad-Free" plan for $19.99/mo or $199.99/yr, which adds the ability to stream content in 4K and Dolby Atomos (for supported content), and streaming on four screens at once.

HBO Max technically supports 4K on the current cheaper plans, but most content isn't available in 4K, so most subscribers probably won't notice that option moving to the Ultimate tier. The announcement explains that Game of Thrones, The Last of Us, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Dark Knight Trilogy, and other content will become available in 4K, and "all Warner Bros. movies released this year and going forward will also be available in 4K UHD when they arrive on Max following their theatrical windows."

The new Max service will launch in the United States on May 23, 2023.

Source: Warner Bros Discovery