All about Max: The HBO Max and Discovery+ combo explained

The decision to put content from HBO Max and Discovery+ under one roof came amid last year’s merger of HBO parent WarnerMedia with Discovery. 

At the time, Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels said the companies “believe in a combined product” that would be “one, very, very strong combined direct-to-consumer product and platform” as opposed to a bundle of different services.

According to Warner Bros. Discovery execs, the idea behind the new “Max” name is to convey that the newly combined streamer offers a little of everything, including programming for kids, rather than being focused on HBO’s brand of premium “adult” shows.

“This new brand signals an important change from two narrower products, HBO Max and Discovery+, to our broader content offering,” said JB Perrette, Warner Bros. Discovery global streaming president, in a press release. “While each product offered something for some people, Max will have a broad array of quality choices for everybody.”

Rather than just a portal for streaming HBO movies and TV shows, Warner Bros. Discovery says that Max will offer a much wider variety of content. From Discovery+, Max will get shows from such home and lifestyle brands as HGTV, Food Network, Discovery Channel, TLC, and ID. 

So besides such grown-up fare as Chernobyl, Euphoria, and True Detective, Max will also serve up shows like House Hunters International, Property Brothers, Deadliest Catch, Mythbusters, Chopped, Beat Bobby Flay, Say Yes to the Dress, and Little People, Big World.

Max execs are also promising a variety of new titles, including a forthcoming Harry Potter series, a comedy “derived” from The Big Bang Theory, a Game of Thrones prequel, a show based on The Conjuring movies, and a new True Detective season with Jodie Foster.

Expect Max to launch on May 23 in the United States.

Meanwhile, Max will go live “later this year” in Latin America, and next year in other regions.

Short answer: yes. 

Longer answer: The original plan was to consolidate HBO Max and Discovery+ into a single service and then eliminate the standalone services, but Warner Bros. Discovery subsequently backtracked on that idea.

Instead, Discovery+ will stick around following the arrival of Max, and it will still cost $6.99 a month, or $4.99/month with ads.

With the new Max streaming service comes new subscription plans, and here they are:

• Max Ad-Lite: $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year, 2 streams, 1080p, no offline downloads, 5.1 audio
• Max Ad Free: $15.99 a month or $149.99 a year, 1080p, 30 offline downloads, 5.1 audio
• Max Ultimate Ad Free: $19.99 a month or $199.99 a year, up to 4K resolution, 100 offline downloads, Dolby Atmos audio

Now, current HBO Max ad-free subscribers will notice that if they stay at their existing price level, they’ll be losing 4K and Dolby Atmos support unless they pony up for the pricier Max Ultimate Ad Free tier. 

That said, Warner Bros. Discovery promises that existing HBO Max subscribers will keep their “current plan features” for a “minimum” of six months following the changeover to Max.

Once Max goes live, “one of two things will happen,” Warner Bros. Discovery says: Either the HBO Max app will automatically update itself to Max, or you’ll be prompted to download an update when you open the HBO Max app.

In either case, HBO Max subscribers won’t need to do anything special to prepare for Max’s arrival.

Those won’t be going anywhere, with your profiles, watch list, and settings slated to move over to the new Max service once it arrives.

If you’ve downloaded any HBO Max shows for offline viewing, however, you’ll need to re-download them on the updated Max app.