Who Owns Max?

• Parent Company: Warner Bros. Discovery
• Ownership Type: Wholly owned
• Company Type: Publicly Traded
• Stock Ticker: NASDAQ: WBD

• Founded: 2020
• Founders: WarnerMedia (internal development)

• Founded: 2022
• Headquarters: New York City, New York, USA
• Company Type: Publicly Traded
• Stock: NASDAQ: WBD
• Revenue: approximately $39.3 billion (FY2024)
• Employees: Approximately 35,000

Visit Warner Bros. Discovery website

• Headquarters: New York City, New York, USA
• Manufacturing / Operations: United States, Global (digital streaming)

Max operates under Warner Bros. Discovery's comprehensive sustainability framework, which includes ambitious climate impact initiatives and responsible entertainment practices. WBD is committed to operating responsibly and efficiently through resilient practices that support both business competitiveness and environmental health.

The company has made significant progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reporting approximately 1.36 billion kg CO2e in 2024, down from 1.44 billion kg CO2e in 2023. Warner Bros. Discovery focuses on climate impacts relevant to the media industry where it has the most opportunity to make progress, including operational energy efficiency, renewable energy investment, and sustainable production practices.

WBD has implemented initiatives aligned with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) guidelines, engaging third-party analysts to assess climate-related physical and transition risks across operations, infrastructure, and supply chain. The company continues enhancing its capabilities to track robust datasets and prepare for future climate-related disclosure requirements.

Warner Bros. Discovery prioritizes sustainable workplace initiatives including green building certifications, operational efficiency improvements, renewable energy adoption, site consolidations to reduce carbon footprint, waste reduction programs, and water management practices. These efforts directly benefit Max's operational infrastructure and data center efficiency.

For sustainable productions, WBD focuses on five key areas: fuel, materials, waste, electricity, and reporting. The company implements practices to improve environmental performance of global productions, which impacts the content created for Max streaming. This includes reducing production-related emissions and creating more efficient content creation processes.

Max has received significant recognition through its content achievements and Warner Bros. Discovery's industry leadership. In 2025, HBO and Max earned the most nominations for the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards, setting a record high number of nominations for the two platforms with strong performances from "The Penguin" and "The White Lotus."

The streaming platform's content has consistently dominated major awards ceremonies, with HBO and Max tying with Netflix for the most 2025 Emmy wins. Led by "The Pitt" and "The Penguin," the platforms demonstrated their continued excellence in premium content production and distribution.

Max's original programming has been recognized across multiple categories, with "The White Lotus" commanding 23 Emmy nominations and "The Last of Us" receiving 16 nominations. "Hacks" continued its success as a reigning comedy series champion with 14 nominations, making it the second most-nominated comedy.

Warner Bros. Discovery's streaming success has been acknowledged by industry analysts and business publications. The company reported a $677 million direct-to-consumer profit for 2024, demonstrating the successful transition to sustainable streaming profitability that Wall Street had been seeking from legacy Hollywood studios.

The platform's rebranding from HBO Max to Max in 2023 has been recognized as a successful strategic move to expand content offerings beyond HBO programming while maintaining the premium quality associated with the HBO brand.

Max has faced several significant challenges and controversies, primarily related to business strategy changes and user policy implementations rather than traditional product recalls. These issues have shaped the platform's evolution and user experience.

Password-Sharing Crackdown (2025-2026): Warner Bros. Discovery announced plans to crack down on password sharing globally starting in 2026, following the lead of Netflix and other streaming platforms. The company revealed during its fourth quarter 2025 earnings call that streaming limitations would expand globally, with messaging to consumers becoming more "aggressive" by the end of 2025. The crackdown is expected to impact financial results starting in 2026.

Content Removal and Library Changes: Following the WarnerMedia-Discovery merger in 2022, Max faced criticism for removing content from the platform, including shows and films that were available on HBO Max. This content pruning strategy, while financially motivated, disappointed subscribers who lost access to favorite programming.

Rebranding Confusion: The 2023 rebranding from HBO Max to Max created some user confusion, particularly regarding the availability of HBO content and the platform's value proposition. Some subscribers questioned whether the rebrand added sufficient value to justify continued subscriptions.

Regional Availability Issues: Max has faced criticism for inconsistent content availability across different regions and countries, with some markets having access to different content libraries due to licensing agreements and regional restrictions.

Streaming Quality and Technical Issues: Like other streaming platforms, Max has encountered technical challenges including streaming quality issues, app crashes, and user interface problems that have generated customer complaints and negative reviews.

Competitive Market Pressures: Max operates in an increasingly competitive streaming market dominated by Netflix, Disney+, and other major platforms. The service has faced challenges in subscriber growth and retention amid intense competition for consumer attention and entertainment dollars.